Blood of the Phoenix
by SpartAl412
Summary: While on the hunt for a sorcerer of Tzeentch, a High Elf warrior is cast into Aethyr where he arrives in a world quite different from his own, and yet similar in ways. His path will cross with a simple thief from that other world, and when their paths cross there will come a reckoning to many, one that will end in blood and fire.
1. The Crossing Paths

Never in the life of Gottlieb Bauman had he felt such terror in his life, he ran through the brush of the forest with his azure robes tearing from the thorn and briar, he wheezed heavily as his body began to demand for respite. In all of his years he had never seen such a fearsome foe, he prayed to the Changer for aid and safety and thought he had been saved when he ran into a band of the horned ones. He had brandished his amulet with the symbol of Tzeentch and spoke in the Dark Tongue, he had then commanded the beastmen to slay his pursuer, they barely lived passed twenty seconds.

Looking back he caught a glimpse of his pursuer, clad in shining armor with a cloak of snow-white fur, his terror came anew as his eyes made contact with the cold ice blue almond-shaped eyes of his pursuer. His pursuer's skin was pale, his fur cloak white like snow, and most dreadfully he carried an axe that blazed with white fire. Roaring the name of the god of murder, the wraith-like warrior pursued Gottlieb and nothing seemed to stop him, not the beastmen, not the sorcery and magic at his disposal and not even the few daemons he could summon.

His path was illuminated by a pair of azure witch-light orbs which floated above the warlock, as he ran he knew it would only be a matter of time before his pursuer caught up with him, not even the Witch Hunters of that false god Sigmar had been so relentless. The pursuit began when his coven had been performing a ritual to ask the favor of Tzeentch, everything had been according to plan, drugged sacrifices, elixirs distilled from the blood of infants, a tribe of beastmen with a herdstone and the full moon of Morrslieb, and then out of nowhere this wraith-like creature comes out of nowhere and killed everything.

Reaching into his belt, Gottlieb stopped to pull out a scroll, scribed in blood and written in the tongue of the Norse, Gottlieb began to hastily cast the incantation upon the scroll. The scroll itself was meant to be used in the event that he might be caught and it offered a way to escape, unfortunately he had absolutely no idea where it would lead and if he went through the portal which would open he would have to pay a hefty personal price from the Great Changer. Faced with the situation of either certain death or the possibility of it, Gottlieb continued his spell.

Gottlieb felt a great shift in the Winds, he saw the very air before him shimmered like the heat of summer, yet he felt the cold of night grow even colder. Looking back with grin, he was about to laugh at the warrior for being unable to catch him, he didn't have time to register the silvery flash of light which turned out to be a thrown hunting knife which caught him in the apple of his throat.

* * *

Grinning with feral satisfaction, Khorieus stepped over the body of the human sorcerer, kneeling over the man he placed his right hand upon the hilt of his hunting knife and gave it sharp twist before wrenching it out, the human was still alive but not for long as his blood gushed out of the fatal wound, he took satisfaction in seeing the light begin to go from the human's eyes before looking to the opening gate which glowed with azure light.

Readying himself into a defensive stance and preparing for something horrible to lash out, Khorieus heard laughter echo into his mind, his rings glowed in anticipation and in a swift burst of movement, hundreds of chain links shot out as swift as a vipers from the portal wrapping around both he and the dying human. Struggling with the bindings, Khorieus twisted and jerked, his flaming axe destroyed several links but more emerged latching on to him, with a loud roar of defiance that echoed across the forest, both the elf and the dying sorcerer were pulled into the opening maw like a ship being devoured by a kraken.

Seeing a nightmarish kaleidoscope of images, Khorieus could hear the dread whispers of countless daemons with countless promises of many unpleasant fates, clenching his axe tightly, and the elf gritted his teeth and closed his eyes trying to block out the sounds and sights until finally silence came. Opening his eyes and hoping that he was finally somewhere safe, he found himself in what seemed to be a library with impossibly high stacks of books with, staircases that twisted and turned in maddening patterns and multi-limbed creatures with massive mouths leaping and capering about. His gaze quickly caught the sight of a massive blue bird-like creature in ornate sky blue and gold robes, the creature he recognized as a greater daemon of Tzeentch.

The Changer of Ways sat cross-legged with its wings furled, upon its lap were a staff and a book and the creature spoke to the human sorcerer of whom was lying upon the blue marble floor which shifted in strange colors and patterns that were painful to look upon. Placing a talon from its left hand above the human's chest, Khorieus impossibly heard the human scream and the sorcerer's body shriveled into a dried husk, the avian daemon then looked to the elf with a disinterested look

'You are not supposed to be here' said the daemon in a rather uninterested tone

With a flick of its wrist Khorieus was grabbed by more chains, he shouted in fury as the chains dragged him into another portal which opened behind the elf, the daemon then demanded for silence. Soon Khorieus found himself once more in the nightmarish Realms of Chaos…

* * *

**ACT I: BLUT UND FEUR**

* * *

Kneeling into the muddy cobbled earth, Kallian Tabris deftly worked her lock picks into the front door of a merchant's home. Hearing the satisfying click, she grinned and gently pulled her tools out of the key hole and placing them into a soft leather case. Securing her tools, she placed them into one of her pockets and her right hand went for the door, gently pushing the door forwards she peaked through the small opening to get a better look inside.

The room ahead was dark and she could hear the sound of a drunken human guardsman who snored a bit too loudly as he sat upon a wooden stool by the door with his head lolling back and resting upon the plastered wall. Shouldn't be too hard she thought to herself, gently pushing the door open she placed her right foot first upon the wooden floor board and then followed with her left. Her mother's boots were perfect for this sort of thing and with practiced skill she crept forwards in search for any valuables.

Two weeks prior, a friend of hers named Arrisa had once been a servant in this very home, her friend had been forced to put up with the sexual advances of the merchant and his bodyguards as well as the jealous temperaments of the merchant's wife. Arrisa had stoically put up with humans for it was her only source of income to help feed her younger siblings, unfortunately that had all changed when she asked to borrow money when her landlord raised the price of their rent. She had received a brutal thrashing before being thrown out and told she was fired, so now Kallian was here, looking for a bit of pay back for her friend.

Kallian was told much about the house's interior from her friend and now she could confirm was divided into two floors; the first floor was a single wide open space with many pieces of furniture, a hearth and decorations for the entertaining of guests to her right. There was also a dining area to her left, she could see a door which supposedly led to kitchen on the wall north of the dining area, and not far from it was another door which led to a small room where guests could privately use the chamber pot.

After the door to the privy room, there was the stair case leading to the second floor, her friend had told her the layout of the second floor and she knew where the most valuable of goods would be. Crouched low and keeping her head down, she quietly moved to the stair case, her steps barely making any sound with only the lightest of creaking. The guard continued to snore and then slur something in his sleep, stopping in her tracks, the thief though oh why not and turned her attention to the guard.

Making her way to the man, it would have been easy for her to slit the human's throat, but she was not out for blood tonight, her delicate hands were wrapped in blackened leather while leaving her fingers exposed. Her right hand held the thin rope cord which attached the man's coin pouch to his belt, with her left hand she brought forth a simple iron dagger which she used to gently cut the cord. As soon as the last threads were parted the pouch fell, the container was swiftly caught by the thief's right hand, grinning underneath the cloth which covered her face from the nose to lower jaw she pocketed the man's pouch.

Moving back towards the stairs she placed one foot upon the steps and then another and began to ascend. The second floor had a hall way wide enough for three men to stand side to side, there were now four doors in the hall, three to her right, the one closest to the stairs was the guards room from which she could hear the snoring of another guard, adjacent to it was a small library and at the end was the study room. To her left was a single door leading to the bedroom of the merchant, here she thought would be where the fun truly began.

* * *

Roaring in the name of the Andraste, Ser Finnick, a Templar of the Chantry brought his long sword down upon the head of mercenary. Blood spattered his gauntlet and armor as the blade cut through the top of the mercenary's head, cleaving the cheap leather cap and cutting into bottom of the man's nose. Pulling his sword back and kicking the dead man away, the body stumbled backwards. Looking to his sides he watched as his three comrades lay into the band of mercenaries with commendable skill.

The Templars formed a line formation with each member being able to watch each other's flank. For weeks they had been hunting a Maleficar from Aeonar to Highever and to the slums of Denerim to which they were currently located at. Through the Maleficar's phylactery they tracked him into this dilapidated structure which must have once been the home of several families. The mercenaries and thugs who had waylaid them were obviously cheap and poorly trained miscreants who were no match for the training and faith of the Chantry's Templars.

Roaring again in the name of Andraste, he slammed his shield into another mercenary's face and his sword plunged into the neck of another, they knew they had the Maleficar trapped. The four of them were some of the best warriors among the local chapters, and even if they did fail they had over two dozen men waiting outside to put the house to the torch, he was confident though that this time the Maleficar would not escape the Maker's justice.

* * *

Marius was concerned, the Blood Mage continued to chant his spell and seeking to summon demons from the Fade to aid him, he had done everything correctly and yet nothing had answered him. He did not wish to go back to Aeonar, and he had little desire to die this night, surrounding him were the bodies of beggars, whores and the poor, both humans and elves whose flesh had been split open with their blood pooling upon the stone floor.

The blood flowed upwards into the air, each forming tendrils which connected to a massive crimson sphere which floated and pulsed with azure light, he had originally intended to summon multiple demons to posses the bodies, or to directly summon them into a corporeal form to be used against the Templars, but it had all gone awry. Suddenly he felt a presence, within the orb of blood he thought he caught a glimpse of a bird-like creature, it carried a staff and scroll in two taloned hands.

He heard the loud thud of a boot against the door behind him and he looked back to hear another thud. The Templars are here! He thought and began to furiously work his spell, he mentally cursed himself for being cornered and he cursed the incompetence of the mercenaries he hired as well as the local street thugs he had bound to his will. Words of power escaped his lips and he furiously began to pour more power into his spell, the azure light began to grow even brighter from within the sphere of blood which began to expand. His eyes were fixed upon the sphere in ways he could not explain, he heard the crash of the door behind him and the demands of the Templars as they announced his punishment and yet he could not take his eyes away from the sphere.

It grew and expanded wider and wider and he feared that he might have called something far too dangerous and powerful, something even he could not control, he heard the whispers of countless voices in his head and he wanted to cover his ears and yet he could not, all he could do was watch in horror, he felt a sharp stab of pain through his chest a sword punched through his rib cage and yet he stood still and paralyzed, watching as the sphere expanded. As his vision blurred and darkness began to engulf him he heard a dark laughter which sent waves of terror unlike anything he had encountered in his life, he knew that he was now truly damned.

* * *

Finnick stepped back from the growing sphere of blood and azure light which pulsed more brightly to the point that it began to blind him

'Dispel that thing!' he commanded and the Templars began focusing their energy upon the sphere which proved too strong. With a sudden flash of light the sphere burst showering everything in the room with blood, launching the Templars into the walls.

The impact knocked the breath out of Finnick as his armored body crashed into the wall behind him. He then felt a brief sense of vertigo as his body fell to the wooden floor and pain shot into the front of his body. Groaning in pain he managed to get up, he could hear the voices of his comrades as they felt the same as he did, he heard the sounds of coughing and wheezing at the end of the room and with his vision still blinded by the azure light.

Slowly standing he licked his tongue across his teeth and he felt that he may have chipped a tooth. Looking to where the blue sphere had once been, he caught sight of a nightmarish thing completely covered in gore. The creature stood up upon shaky limbs and he could see it wielded a massive axe of a design he had never seen. A daemon, or some sort of abomination he quickly thought, his sword was still clasped in his right gauntlet.

Looking to his comrades who had recovered, he shouted to them slay the demon. As one the Templars roared the name of Andraste they charged towards the demonic creature. With impossible swiftness the demon looked up to the Templars and charged them, he saw a pair of cold blue eyes which seemed to pierce his very soul. The demon shouted something in a foul arcane tongue and its axe blazed with white fire, the demon proved to be unnaturally fast and strong as its axe blade struck the armor of Brother Marik, his breastplate screeched as the axe blade sliced through it and into the man's flesh.

Marik shrieked in agony as unholy fire caused his flesh and armor to melt around the axe, the demon then swiftly ripped the axe out and struck Brother Desmond with the flat of its axe impacting against the side of his helmet. The Templar staggered back and Finnick was close enough to strike, with a swift thrust of his sword he pushed his blade into the demon's chest and his sword clanged off as if he attempted to stab an anvil. Ghostly white sigils flashed across the demon's chest and it glared its baleful blue eyes at him.

Swiftly retracting his sword and smashing his shield into the demon, the demon staggered back and was struck in its left arm by Brother Russel, the senior Templar's blessed sword only caused the demon to grunt in pain in a voice which sounded almost human before it swung its axe high and decapitating the man.

'NOO!' shouted Finnick as the head of Brother Russel toppled over and the body falling to its knees while showering them with steaming gore, the demon swiftly charged towards Finnick with its axe raised high and he rose his shield and the fiery blade crashed into his shield, breaking the bones upon his forearms, it felt as if he had been struck by a maul. The demon thrust its right knee into Finnick's chest and he was knocked back slightly winded, Brother Desmond then struck the demon from behind the head with a slash of his sword, the blade clanged off its head with sharp ring of metal and bright sigils emerged from around its head and the demon grunted in pain.

'Maker's Breath! What does it take to kill this thing!?' he shouted with frustration, the demon staggered forward from Desmond's attack it swiftly recovered and swung its axe into the man's left shoulder, severing the limb from it in a screech of metal and causing him to cry out in agony. Brother Marik assailed the demon with a swift series of thrusts and feints, and each time the demon parried or launched a counter, eventually its axe cleaved once more into the man's chest and this time he would not rise again.

Charging at the demon with Andraste's name upon his lips, Finnick rushed the monster with his shield raised; the demon swerved around him with blinding speed, its axe swung directly into Finnick's lower back. Hot searing agony blazed into his back as the blade struck, it cleaved through his armor and began to cause the metal, flesh and bone within to char.

Falling face first into the bloody, corpse strewn floor, he did not see the demon finish off Brother Desmond. Rolling to his back he thrust his blade forwards in what should have been a lethal strike into the demon's belly, it staggered back a little and grunted before bringing its fiery axe down into the chest of Finnick and killing the man instantly.

* * *

Breathing heavily, Khorieus took a deep breath trying to take stock of the situation; he was surrounded by the heavy stench of blood and offal in the air and he began to survey the area around him. It was a dark room which looked to be of a crude human design, there were bodies and blood everywhere cursing at his predicament he moved towards an open door way with the respective door looking as if it had been kicked down.

Wobbling forwards and still feeling dazed and somewhat confused from both the nightmarish kaleidoscope of the Realms of Chaos and the battle he had just fought. Leading into dark hallway, he saw the bloody corpse of a human lying face down upon the floor; it looked as if he had been run through from behind. Stepping over the body, he made his way down a stairway and into a wide spacious room filled with more corpses.

The bodies were those of humans, clad in a mix of dirty leather and rusted chain mail of a design he had never seen. The humans who had attacked him earlier seemed to have spoken in the tongue of Albion and yet most unusually they were clad in plate armor, how was that possible? He thought. He had been to Albion in the past and had found its inhabitants to barbarians who went into battle, barely clad like the savages of Norsca. Feeling a faint draft of wind and the fetid familiar stench of human habitation he knew he should get outside before more showed up. Stepping over the bodies, he went to the front door of the building and he stepped out into the cold night air.

All around him, Khorieus could see many dingy structures typical of the low quality used by humans and yet the design seemed different to him, he looked about to get his bearing and with sudden alarm he realized something. Looking up to the cloudy night sky, his eyes widened _'Mirai' _he muttered, where were the Winds? He could not see nor could he feel the Winds of Magic.

He heard the ringing of a bell and the guttural voices of men followed by the barking of dogs, he did not have time to ponder upon where he was and all thoughts turned to escape, looking around him he darted for an empty alleyway and into the darkness of the human city.

* * *

Grinning with satisfaction, Kallian closed the door into the merchant's house and began to lock it. A good haul she thought as she patted the burlap bag over her right shoulder, it was sealed with a simple yet strong cord of rope and it contained several coins, gems and other valuables. Most importantly was the leather case containing several papers she had taken from the merchant's home, the kind rival merchants would pay well to get their hands on, the kind the watch could arrest a man for and others of the kind which would certainly cause more than a bit of trouble between the merchant and his wife.

Keeping to the shadows she quietly made her way back to the Alienage, wary of any guards, thugs or rival thieves. She heard the distant sound of thunder from above and thought that it would rain, more reason to get back she thought. A few minutes after she had left the merchant's house the freezing rain began to pour and Kallian cursed her luck, shaking her head she continued her way.

On the way back towards the Alienage she heard the loud barking of mabari hounds and the shouts of alarm from the City Watch, she froze in place and wondered were they after her? Was she noticed? Picking up her pace she began to move more quickly towards her home. Carefully navigating the alleys and streets she knew she was making good progress, her feet squelched upon the muddy ground and she began to shiver from the cold rain, not far now she thought.

Quickly moving out of one alley, she moved into another, she began thinking about having a nice bowl of hot stew before retiring for the night, as she made her way she suddenly stopped and felt her palms begin to itch. Looking around her she saw a sudden movement in the shadows, with her right hand still holding her sack; her left hand went for an iron dagger. The blade swiftly left its scabbard and she watched as a tall figure, likely a male human come into view, she instinctively knew the human was not alone and this was likely the part where he would ask her to give up whatever loot she had, or die.

The man was covered with dark garments, perfect for sneaking about; she could see his blue eyes appraising her with a calculating grin.

'I am sure you know how this works girlie' said the raspy voice of the man shouting over the downpour.

'Oh no' replied Kallian icily 'I got this stuff on my own, sod off and no one has to die here!'

The man was certainly taken quite aback from her response; she could tell that he knew that she knew the man had some friends around. The man then sneered and continued

'So the knife ear has got a death wish eh!?' the man shouted 'Fine by me, we tried to do this all peaceful like!'

As if on cue five men emerged from the shadows, each carried short blades, some also wielded cudgels or hatchets. Having already been prepared for this, Kallian sprinted towards the human who spoke to her; the man was surprised by her agility and quickly went into a defensive stance. Lunging forward with her dagger, the man tried to dodge to her right, she quickly retracted her blade in a feint and swung her sack into the man's path and struck him directly upon the side of his head. The impact was enough to daze the man before she reversed the grip on her dagger and plunged it into the side of the man's neck.

'You bitch!' shouted the voice of another man from behind her. Quickly pulling the blade out from the man's neck which gushed with blood, Kallian left behind her sack as she turned around to face the other thugs. Leaning back with her head barely dodging the swipe of a hatchet, she had swiftly raised her right leg up into the other man's groin and her foot struck against his manhood. The man shrieked in pain and clutched his tender bits but Kallian did not have time to finish him off as another thug was already upon her.

Another thug wielding a pair of heavy short blades thrust both of his weapons forwards, she ducked underneath the attack and with her right hand she grabbed a handful of mud and thrust it into the man's face. The third man was blinded as mud got into his eyes and he shouted profanities at Kallian, she leapt back, almost slipping on the muddy ground as another man attempted to stab her with a knife and her right hand went for her second dagger. Now armed with two daggers, she swiftly had adopted a defensive fighting stance with her back to her sack of valuables. Three of the five men were closing in on her, they likely had just realized that she was a real scrapper, and were weighing their options.

Suddenly hearing a deep voice shout from the alley to their side, one of the men looked to his right and was tackled by a massive armored warrior with a dark fur cloak. The man who was struck was knocked off his feet and he fell upon a set of crude wooden barricades, the other two men swiftly attacked the warrior and in a sudden movement one of the men toppled to the earth, his head flew upwards with a bloody stream trailing behind it. She was amazed by the warrior's speed; she saw he carried a massive axe which she doubted even she could carry and yet he wielded it as easily as she could wield a long sword.

* * *

Swiftly delivering jab to the throat of the other man who was attacking him, Khorieus then brought his axe down in a single-handed over head chop which split the head of the one he had punched in twain. After killing the man he stopped to get his bearings, ahead of him was the man he had shoved forward, the man looked at him fearfully, behind him was a crude wooden barricade which blocked his path, the Chracian then looked to his sides and saw to his right two more men, one was clutching his genitals with one hand and he held a blade in the other, the other man was rubbing something out of his eyes.

Suddenly hearing a groan from the man by the fence, Khorieus thrust the bottom of his axe handle into the man's chest; he felt the satisfying crack of bones before leaving the man alone. Khorieus then looked to his left to see a slender black cloaked figure with a similarly black cloth covering its mouth and wielding a pair of crude looking blades in a defensive stance. The cloaked one was slowly backing away, but he saw emerald-green eyes looking to him warily, before he could do anything, Khorieus heard the loud barking of two hounds behind him.

Swiftly turning back, he watched as a massive hounds leapt towards him, he raised his axe up in time for its jaws to clamp down upon the shaft, its paws clawed against his armor and he looked into the beast's eyes which balefully glared at him. As the hound's jaws held the axe in a vice-like grip, Khorieus saw the other one coming towards him. Swiftly shifting the weight to his left and letting go, the beast crashed down into the earth and he delivered a swift knee kick to the side of its head. The hound yelped in pain and the Chracian swiftly ripped his knife from its sheath and he stabbed it in the back of its head with all of his strength, the hound whimpered pitifully before death claimed it.

The other hound angrily bit into the left boot of Khorieus, its jaws held the enchanted Ithilmar plates which glowed with protective runes. He forced his hunting knife out of the one he had killed and plunged the blade into the other hound's skull, the beast died instantly and he ripped the blade out. Hearing the shouts of the men who were chasing him, Khorieus turned to his right but he saw the two men who seemed incapacitated were now dead with crossbow bolts piercing their bodies.

Standing over the two bodies were four more men in chain armor, two held torches and swords while the other two held loaded crossbows which were aimed at him.

'Lord of-' he hissed, but the sudden impact of two crossbow bolts interrupted him as both struck against his chest, the enchanted armor held and Khorieus was staggered back from the blow, he looked to the humans who attacked him with an all-consuming anger, he roared like the lions of his home and charged in the direction of the shooters.

The swordsmen swore and charged at Khorieus, effortlessly cutting down one man with a sweep to his right and slaying the other with a return swipe, the murder-lust descended upon him and he staggered back from the impact of another crossbow bolt which struck against his armored right thigh and another hitting his left pauldron, the armor held on both occasions and he charged forwards.

His axe raised high he brought his ancestral weapon down upon one of the crossbowmen and the blade buried itself over the man's left shoulder and cutting into his heart. The other crossbowman struck the High Elf with the stock of his crossbow, the weapon impacted again side of his head, striking the helmet which glowed once more and giving the elf a minor dizzying feeling. With an aggressive sweep, Khorieus severed the man's head from his neck and blood sprayed out mixing with the freezing rain.

Hearing the rapid steps of the slender cloaked figure running towards him, he looked to his left and noted it was carrying a sack in its right hand and a short blade in its left, it looked to him but he could see it was trying to avoid him and not desiring a fight, behind the cloaked one were more hounds and armed men. He allowed the cloaked on to go past him without incident and he saw several men emerging from the alleyway from which he entered.

Swiftly counting at least a dozen men now, Khorieus decided to withdraw and follow the cloaked one, suddenly he heard an angry curse from a surprisingly feminine voice. Khorieus looked to back to the direction of where he had killed the four men now and he saw several armored men coming in that direction. The cloaked one halted and began letting loose a stream of curses, she dropped her sack and pulled out another blade, grimly Khorieus decided that he should deal with the hounds first.

* * *

Kallian swore once more as she found herself surrounded on all sides by the City Watch, she had counted at least a dozen men and two mabari behind her, and now eight in front of her. She loudly cursed again at her luck, looking back she was a bit relieved the massive warrior did not seem to mind her, she had caught a glimpse of his features and he was very strange to her. The warrior was massive, taller than any human she had known and he was broad too, his face though seemed surprisingly elven but he couldn't possibly be an elf she thought, no elf she ever met grew so large.

With sudden burst of movement the warrior charged towards the mabari hounds, one of the creatures leapt towards the warrior who side-stepped at the last moment and brought his axe down upon its spine, the second hound had missed the warrior as well, it skidded forwards for moment upon the muddy earth it turned around to face the warrior, in time for his axe to crash into its skull and cutting the beast's head in two.

Without missing a beat the warrior then charged towards the watchmen with axe raised high and roaring the name of some unknown deity. Seeing the other band watchmen swiftly closing in she ran after the warrior while she picked up her sack, she hoped that she could get him between her and the watchmen. As she ran she could see the bloody ruin the warrior was wreaking, his axe slashed left and right, each strike rending limbs and flesh with blood mixing with the rain and mud. She saw as a watchman raised his shield against the warrior and the axe cut through it as if it were kindling and severing the watchman's arm from below the elbow.

She ducked underneath the return swing of one cleaving strike which beheaded a man, she thrust her dagger forward into the throat of the man behind the headless one and retracted it in time to parry the blade of another. Kicking another man in the groin and weaving past him, she dodged overhead chop of a watchman's axe and slammed her bag into another watchman's head. The man staggered from the attack and she drove her dagger up his lower jaw, tossing the bag behind her and pulling out her other dagger again she swiftly raised her left dagger to block a sword and used her right to stab her attacker in the gut, the man briefly grunted in pain with blood coming out of his mouth before an axe severed his head from his neck.

* * *

Roaring loudly with adrenaline coursing through his veins, Khorieus decapitated another man and he severed the arm of another, these humans were poor fighters, they reminded him of the Men-at-Arms used by the Bretonnians. Spinning his body to his right with his axe following, he struck a man in the left side of his chest with his axe digging into where the human's heart should be.

As the human fell, the area around him was clear and he could see the larger group of humans ahead now cautiously approaching him. He noted the cloaked woman was breathing heavily beside him with bloody blades out and facing the humans. Looking back to the humans he could see the fear in their eyes and the desire to run clearly upon them.

'FIGHT ME!' he shouted in Reikspiel, before repeating again but switching to Breton.

This seemed to generate a response from the humans who looked to each other and began muttering to one another, he shouted again in Breton, trying to provoke them. As one the humans launched another assault, this time in a much larger group and Khorieus gave a feral grin in amusement, three men armed with crossbows opened fired, one of the bolts struck the Charcian over his heart, his armor held as the bolt shattered, but the woman had not been as lucky as a bolt caught her in the gut and another to her right thigh. Hardly caring for the woman's condition, he roared the name of Khaine and charged towards them with his axe trailing behind him. He shouted the command word of his axe and as he spun, the blade ignited in white fire which caused the droplets of rain to evaporate around it.

The closest human was caught by surprise from the fiery axe which cleaved through the man's belly and spilling seared entrails into the mud and it struck the man to his side as well and he fell to his knees. Khorieus accepted the strike of a sword which had been thrust to his midsection, the point of the iron blade struck against enchanted Ithilmar plates and shattered from the impact, the Chracian returned with a bloody sweep of his axe which killed more men.

He laughed and shouted in savage fury as the slaughter began; he counted by the numbers to which they were diminishing and soon their morale was broken and they fled, but not before Khorieus pursued and killed at least three more men. Breathing heavily with his breath misting in the cold, he could hear the groans of pain from the men who were not dead yet. Had they been beastmen, greenskins, Druchii or Chaos worshippers he would have swiftly ended what little lives they had left, but as they were just humans he stayed his hand and further surveyed the area.

Satisfied that the area was clear he looked back at the direction of the cloaked woman he decided to see if he could help her for he needed information. Finding two bloody crossbow bolts which had been pulled out and left in the mud, he could see that she tried to crawl away with, her right hand held the top of a heavy sack and with her left she used to drag herself away. The cloaked woman had only succeeded in crawling away for such a short distance that she was barely five steps away from where she had been shot.

Walking towards the woman with her face still down with blood mixing with the muddy earth, he whispered for his axe to calm down before stowing it away upon his back. Standing over the woman, he placed his boot underneath her chest and he rolled her upon her back, the woman grunted and he looked down to see emerald-green eyes which were unfocused as if in a daze. Kneeling down he could see the pale skin of her forehead, pulling down the cloth covering the woman's mouth and was surprised to find her features as of being rather elven.

The maiden was small, a child perhaps? And her garments suggested that perhaps she was a thief. He had many questions to ask her but he had no idea what language to use, the humans did not understand Reikspiel and Breton seemed familiar to them but it also had given them the courage to attack. He thought about using the language of Albion but his knowledge of it was limited. Reaching for his amulet, he gently removed the piece of jewelry and placed it around her neck; he then held the amulet up to his lips and began whispering a prayer to Isha.

* * *

Feeling a profound sense of warmth like a summer sun without its harshness, Kallian slowly opened her eyes to see the face of the warrior. She could see his cold ice blue eyes staring directly into her own as he whispered in an arcane tongue towards a beautiful necklace which had been placed around her neck it glowed with a comforting light. She stared at the warrior, she had frozen up like a cat before a galloping horse, she saw what the warrior did to those soldiers and since he was still alive it obviously meant that he killed the others.

As soon as the warrior stopped whispering he gently removed the amulet, she did not want to do anything to start an unnecessary fight now. Nervously, she said 'uh… hey', the warrior stopped and tilted his head, he had shouted at the guards in foreign languages and for all she knew he did not understand the common tongue, she did hear what she thought was Orlesian though.

'I greet you' replied the warrior haltingly and with a thick accent. Rising up, the warrior took a step back and he handed her the burlap sack, taking the sack she nodded with relief.

'Well thanks I guess' she said, the warrior stared at her and she thought he may have been studying her words.

'Where here? Albion?' he asked as he clearly struggled with the words

'Albion? Don't know where that is, this is Denerim' she replied and she was starting to grow worried, she knew the Watch would return with help.

'De-ne-rim?' he asked again clearly confused 'no Albion?' Kallian had no idea what or where Albion was but she knew now was hardly the time for it; she looked around worriedly and gestured for the warrior to follow her. 'More men?' he asked, Kallian nodded towards the warrior, he acquiesced and began to follow her to the Alienage.

* * *

Walking to the front door which pounded loudly, Cyrion Tabris knew exactly who it would be outside at such an hour. Yawning loudly he opened the door to see his daughter; relief mixed frustration warred within him as he knew she had been out again causing trouble. His eyes quickly widened in alarm as he swiftly noted the massive blue-eyed warrior in silverite armor behind her. Looking back to his daughter with a questioning look

'He is a friend, I will explain inside' she said.

Stepping back and allowing his daughter and the massive warrior in, he noted that she carried a heavy sack which jingled with the sound of coins and other objects he was briefly and yet sadly reminded of his late wife Adaia.

The warrior was much taller and broader than both he and Kallian by more than a few feet. The warrior gave a respectful bow and was ushered to a table with two chairs by his daughter. The warrior curtly gave thanks in a strangely accented voice before setting a massive axe, a bow and a quiver upon the top of the table, he noted every piece of the warrior's equipment was of an elegant design he had never seen; the warrior then moved towards the hearth and began removing his gauntlets. His daughter as well had already removed her gloves and pulled down her hood to reveal her long raven black hair. The two then crouched near the hearth with hands extended near the flames.

He could hear the rain from the outside; the two must have been freezing. Leaving the two by the fire, Cyrion went towards the shelf by the keg which they kept near their door. Picking up a pair of clay cups and a bottle of cheap wine, he poured the red liquid into the cups and went for the two. Giving first his daughter a cup to which she thanked him and the then the warrior who also gave thanks in his deep accented voice.

He wondered if the warrior was some sort of foreigner, his face had a certain elven quality to it, but he had never seen an elf as large as the warrior. His daughter quickly downed the contents, the warrior seemed to cringe at the taste, and he guessed that perhaps the warrior was not expecting the wine to taste more like vinegar. The warrior swiftly drank the wine in a single gulp and coughed before setting it upon the table and going back to the hearth. Looking to his daughter again who rose up, he gestured for her to follow him to the back of their house where they kept their beds.

'I am sure you have a lot of questions father' said Kallian 'but I am all right, the stranger there helped me escape from the Watch'.

Wearily nodding, Cyrion was glad that she had returned safely, despite his open disapproval of her thievery, so much like her mother he thought with nostalgia once more.

'I trust you were not harmed?' he asked

'Only a few bumps and bruises nothing serious' was her reply.

He knew when his daughter was not entirely telling the truth. There were times in the past that she had come home severely injured and in dire need of medicine, he was certain this had been one of those times. Kallian looked towards the warrior and she continued with a bit of worry in her voice 'he healed me with magic, I don't know if he is a mage or something.'

Eyes widening with alarm, what if this stranger might be an apostate being hunted by the Templars? Looking to the warrior then back to his daughter he said with a whisper of alarm 'we need to know if he is a mage or not, if he is then he has to leave'. His daughter nodded and agreed with him, she then turned around and went to the warrior who still crouched near the hearth. He could hear his daughter's voice as they exchanged introductions.

* * *

'Tabris, Kallian Tabris' she introduced herself cautiously to the warrior.

The warrior then rose up and gave her a formal looking bow, he spoke with much gravitas in a melodious song-like tongue

_'Khorieus Alatanrieth ath Amatharier lo Chrace, lo Ulthuan'. _Blinking at the warrior, she had no idea what he said, sighing the warrior then pointed to himself 'Khorieus, of Chrace, of Ulthuan' he said haltingly, it looked as he wished to say more but could not find the words in their language for it.

'You're not a mage are you?' she asked. The warrior looked at her not quite understanding her question

'You know, a mage?' she said, she tried randomly spouting out gibberish and placing her right fist upon her left palm and imitating as if she were shooting something out. The warrior shook his head and gave a simple no and pointed to his weapons. Looking to her father, she nodded and he nodded back with understanding, with only a mild bit of relief in his expression. Feeling weary and tired from the night's events and she resolved to figure things out in the morning.

The night went without incident, she explained to her father the situation of her friend Arrisa and why she went out, she explained to him how she ran into Khorieus how he had helped her. Her father at the least was glad that she returned safely, she always hated making him worry like that but often she had to go out and steal things because she had to, to help them get by, she knew that deep down though she also enjoyed it for the thrills. As they all retired for the night, their guest had simply seated himself beside the wall by the hearth. Kallian changed into some sleeping clothes while she placed her sodden clothes alongside the warrior's fur cloak within the bathing tub by the corner while she and her father went to their bunk beds.

The following morning when the sun had just begun to rise, a series of loud knockings came from their front door; her father had still been asleep when she rose. Walking barefooted towards the front door, she saw Khorieus was already giving an intense look at the door and his left hand tightly gripped around the haft of his axe which along with the bow and quiver was propped by the hearth quite close to him.

Looking to the warrior she waved her right hand downwards in his direction, gesturing him to stand down, the warrior nodded and she opened the door. Appearing more haggard than usual, her friend Arrisa was a gaunt tan skinned, auburn haired woman about Kallian's age whose hair was tied into a pony tail; her eyes were rimmed with deep eye bags, likely she had been worried if Kallian herself had been alive and well from the previous night.

'Oh thank the Maker you are all right' said Arrisa with a whisper of relief

'You did ask for the best' chuckled Kallian 'No need to worry though I got everything, just wait a moment'.

Raising a her left hand to her friend in a gesture to wait, Kallian left the doorway and went for the sack to which rested by the door, she gently picked it up with both hands and went back to the front door. She handed the sack to her friend which contained everything, including the incriminating papers, Arrisa's eyes widened with surprise and she began thanking Kallian profusely.

'I promise to send you your share of it' Arrisa said with a mix of relief and excitement before turning around and hastily making her way home. Yawning with sleepiness, Kallian felt now would be a good time to catch up on some sleep.

In the morning that followed, Kallian had decided to lay low in the Alienage after the heist and the fight with the watchmen. According to one of her neighbors who passed by to deliver her share from heist, news was going around amongst the Watch of an Orlesian Chevalier in Silverite armor who wielded a magic battle-axe and was responsible for the deaths of the watchmen from the previous night. Reluctantly her father left to discuss with the _Hahren _or Elder on what to do about their guest.

* * *

'You have magic?' asked the warrior, Kallian could see he was clearly frustrated by his difficulty to communicate. While he still wore the breastplate of his armor, Kallian was surprised when he removed his helmet to see that his silvery white hair was so long that it reached down to his waist. The warrior's hair was decorated with plaits held in place by metallic cords; she also noted with a gleam in her eye the many pieces of jewelry which seemed to decorate his hair. Also she had noticed he really must have been an elf for his ears were of the right shape.

'I don't, the Chantry forbids that sort of thing' replied Kallian. The warrior looked at her curiously; likely he was trying to make sense of her words.

'No magic?' he said again slowly 'You… You _elfe, ja? _Kallian noted the last two words were of different sounding dialect.

'You are asking if I am an elf? She asked, and the warrior nodded. 'Of course I am!' She exclaimed, turning her right cheek she pushed back a bit of her hair and showed him her ears. This did not seem to convince him, he sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose with his right index finger and thumb.

'Where I find Magic?' he asked again. Kallian herself had no idea, she wondered why he needed to find a mage, she supposed he could go to the Wonders of Thedas in the Market District, but right now it would be best if he too laid low for a while, especially if the guards were looking for him. She heard how there is supposed to a tower full of Mages far to the west, but she could not be sure for she had never been outside of Denerim.

Hearing a click from the door, she turned her head to see it open, through it came her father and the _Hahren_ Valendrian. Getting up from her chair, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave a slight bow to the _Hahren_, reciprocating the gesture the old elf gave her a warm smile and he nodded towards the large warrior. With formalities ended the Elder was the first to speak

'You father has told me about what happened' said the Elder with a mix of authority and paternal familiarity as if he were a close relative 'While I do not approve of it, I am glad that you are well'.

Kallian nodded to the Elder a bit relieved, the _Hahren _then began taking a good look at the strange and massive warrior who towered over them, she could see the stranger's icy eyes gazing upon them, and it seemed predatory and frightening. Breaking the silence the Elder spoke to the warrior 'Bonjour…'

* * *

'Hello to you friend, I am Elder Valendrian of the Alienage of Denerim' said the old elf in a thickly accented but understandable Breton.

Khorieus was relieved that here was someone here he could communicate with. He had not slept the previous night and had simply maintained a silent vigil as he collected his thoughts. The Elder had grey hair with deep lines upon his face, he must be close to a millennium to look as such thought the Chracian.

'I greet you as well Elder one' replied Khorieus with a polite tone while switching to Breton 'I am Khorieus Alatanrieth, Of the _Asur_ of blessed Ulthuan and Chrace' he said, speaking the names of his people and homeland with reverence 'I need to know exactly, where I am.' The Elder seemed a bit confused at his questions.

'This is the Alienage of Denerim' replied the Elder 'Capital of Ferelden'. Khorieus looked to the Elder confused as well.

'Ferelden?' asked the Chracian, with worry creeping into his tone 'This is not Albion? The people here speak its language; are we not even speaking in the language of Bretonnia now?'

'I do not know of this Albion but it is not here' replied the Elder 'I also do not know of a Bretonnia, for here in Ferelden we speak the common language Thedas, the language we are even speaking to each other now is that of Orlais.' The old elf's words finally confirmed the suspicions within Khorieus.

In the past he had been to the White Tower of Hoeth, there he had read many books in regards to the arcane, one particular tome he had skimmed through was known as "Enathir's Dissertation on the Planes of Reality". It spoke about the possible existence of separate worlds and separate universe, an amusing piece with merit, but hardly one with any practical applications to Khorieus. How wrong the Chracian was now, and how much he felt he wished he had a copy of the tome now. He needed to find a mage or place where mages gathered, he needed to find a way to return home.

As the realization sank in, Khorieus looked to the Elder and asked 'Are there any places here where mages gather?'

'Far to the west is the Circle of Magi Tower on Lake Calenhad' said the Elder 'you can also try the Wonders of Thedas in the Market District, but leaving the Alienage for now would be far from wise.'

'And why would that be?' asked Khorieus curiously while arching an eyebrow

'The City Watch is currently looking for someone of your description and are offering a large bounty' said the Elder. Khorieus eyes narrowed and he suddenly tensed himself, as much as the idea galled him, if these other elves sought to turn him in he would break their bones and permanently silence them before they could even leave this house. He noted the other two, Kallian and Cyrion reacting as well with the former tensing herself and getting ready to move. 'We will not tell the City Watch you are here, friend' continued the Elder 'I have been told you helped young Kallian here, as such we welcome you to the Alienage as a friend, but others may not be as quiet as we.'

Relaxing his stance so did the maiden, wherever this Lake Calenhad was, he needed to find it and its mage tower.

'You have my gratitude' said Khorieus as the information sank in.

* * *

The morning passed with the two continuing to converse, Kallian herself had gone out shortly before noon, donning some simple clothes she sought to buy some things from Alarith's shop, while she had completely no idea what passed between the Elder and the warrior as they spoke in Orlesian, the Elder had suggested that she go find clothes suitable for their guest as well as to keep him within their home for now. Searching among the merchant's wares, she engaged in a bit of small talk with some of the other customers, most of the clothes were torn, or worn out; those which were whole were poorly stitched. Eventually she found a set of hand-me-down clothes which seemed to be large enough for their guest.

After purchasing clothes as well as some sundries with some coin from her previous heist, she placed the goods in a woven basket and made her way home. At the current time of the day most elves who had jobs had already gone to work; those who remained were the sick, the jobless, children and beggars. Her shoes squelched over muddy ill-maintained cobblestone road of her home, she passed by the Vhenedahl tree at the heart of the Alienage, it pale brown bark and its green leaves seemed quite healthy this season, a shame the same that the same could not be said for the elves.

Arriving at the front door of her home she turned the handle upon the knob, as the door opened she heard a familiar feminine voice conversing with someone. Oh sod! She mentally said, going through the door she saw her cousin Shianni seated by the table speaking to the warrior of whom was seated by the other side, the two turned their heads to her and her cousin spoke first.

'Hey cousin!' Shianni said in a cheerful tone, rising up from her chair, she walked to Kallian and the two gave each other a friendly embrace, she could smell cheap the ale on her cousin's breath

'I was just talking to your foreign friend here'. Her cousin gave a smile to the warrior who only gave them a somewhat aloof look.

'Hello to you too cousin' said Kallian trying to be a friendly as possible 'Where is the Elder? He was just here when I left?'

'The Elder left just a while ago, he had some business to attend to' said her cousin, a mischievous grin came upon her face 'so where did you meet your friend there, he is very handsome'. Kallian had to admit the stranger was attractive in a stern sort of way, but he seemed very cold and there was an air of tension around him as if he were expecting trouble.

'It's kind of a weird story' replied Kallian 'I will tell you outside…'

* * *

Watching the two maidens speak, Khorieus maintained his aloof expression. The red-haired one Shianni had come in right before the Elder left, they spoke for a minute or so before the Elder left, leaving Khorieus alone with the maiden. The _Asur_ noted the way she looked at him and was slightly amused by what seemed to be flirtations, while he did consider her a bit pretty despite being so slight of build that it looked as if she had spent a lifetime barely eating; her breath had smelled of cheap human ale. It seemed this entire city and its inhabitants were partial to maintaining an atrocious smell, specifically one akin to rotting garbage and wet hounds.

The black-haired one, Kallian laid down a crudely woven basket by the table; she picked up a pale woolen tunic and handed it to him. The Chracian looked at the clothing with disdain, it was of a poor design which looked as if it had seen too many years of use, and he saw a rust-colored stain over where a man's belly would be and was confident its original owner had met his demise while wearing it. Taking the tunic he had also received a pair of brown trousers and a large pair of worn leather shoes.

When the two maidens left, Khorieus sighed with frustration. He wanted to leave this place already and seek out information for this Lake Calenhad, while he did not fear the guardsmen if the previous night had been any indication of their abilities, he knew nothing of what this world had. He needed more information before making his next move. He had been assured by the Elder that the guardsmen would be unlikely to look for him in the community he had called the Alienage, but was asked to lay low for now.

He wondered how these other elves came to be living in a slum like this. He has seen many such poor communities within the cities of men in his world, but such places were often entirely inhabited by humans. While there were communities in the Empire which were inhabited by Halflings or Dwarfs, the ones he had seen were significantly much better than this wretched placed. In Marienburg he had even been to the opulent district inhabited by the merchant houses of Lothern.

Among the _Asur_, such conditions would be intolerable and no self-respecting Child of Asuryan would allow themselves to be subjected to such. A mixture of pity and contempt began to grow within Khorieus, although he had briefly seen their community, he could feel that quiet sense of desperation and the resignation to accept the squalor to which they lived in.

Removing his breast-plate and placing it in the tub along with the rest of armor, he removed his cold undergarments which were still wet from the rain. Drying himself with a fresh cloth provided earlier by the older elf Cyrion, he began putting on the clothes which were a bit tight, and the shoes as well had felt the same. Removing the cords, the combs and jewelry from his hair, he allowed his mane to flow down freely, he noted the way the maiden, Kallian looked at the decorative pieces upon his hair and was worried the thief may try to steal it.

Looking by the hearth near his weapons was his pack; inside he had kept a case full of healing elixirs, his coin pouch, preserved food items, water skins, there was also a separate sealed compartment where he kept an extra set of clothing which was a silken white and red robe uniform, and boots, the same kind the common archers of his people wore. But the most important of his personal belongings was his pledge ring.

Going to the pack and reaching into it, he pulled out the pledge ring and began to study it with a mix of nostalgia and reverance. Just as he had for these past two centuries, memories of his wife Laneleis and son Aranith briefly coursed through his mind before he shook away the reverie before the regret and anger set in. Placing his ring back into his pouch he picked up another piece of dried cloth and began to get started on drying out his armor, he was annoyed that his white fur cloak was still stained in gore and he would need to do a lot of cleaning to make sure it returned to its pristine state. Searching among the basket of sundries, he found a bar of soap which he hoped would do the task.

* * *

'And that's it really' ended Kallian as she told what happened the previous night to her cousin.

'I'm amazed you were able to get all that' her cousin said 'it must be exciting living the life of a dashing rogue, like in the stories'.

Kallian chuckled with good humor, sure there were some fun parts, and she remembered how terrifying and nerve-wracking her first few heists had been. Even now she would still get rather scared at times but in the end she would square up her shoulders and just go for it.

'So how long do you think that Khorieus fellow will be staying?' Asked Shianni curiously, she then added rather coyly 'is he seeing anyone?'.

'Oh you are just terrible!' said Kallian mirthfully, her cousin could certainly become quite fiery and stand offish to others at times, especially towards humans or strangers but a bit too friendly with those she took a liking to after a few drinks.

'Well can you ask him?' her cousin asked again with as much good humor 'anyway I need to get going, see you around cousin!' Embracing each other once more Kallian bid goodbye to her cousin, well what now? She thought, she still had to lay low for now and it was not like she had any day job, she hadn't really had any luck with that for a while.

Turning back to the house and deciding to get started on preparing a meal she heard footsteps from within. The door opened slightly and she saw the large warrior holding a wooden bucket in his hands, the large elf looked down at her and simply said 'water?' in a questioning manner.

'You want me to get water?' she asked

'Yes' replied the warrior before a pause of silence, it seemed like he was trying to find the right word to say then he continued 'please'.

'Oh okay then…' replied Kallian a bit awkwardly at the request before taking the bucket.

* * *

Elsewhere in the city as its inhabitants had gone had begun their mornings, Templar Jacob Darius stood outside the slum house, cold fury building up inside him. His face was scarred from many years of loyal service to the Maker and to the Chantry, for years he had hunted apostates, maleficars, demons, monsters, and pagans in the name of Andraste. His bare head was styled with a clean shave and short-cropped graying hair; his helmet held in the crook of his right arm, his mind pieced together what had happened. Inside the building they had found the bodies of several men, women and children both humans and elves.

Most disturbingly of all though were the bodies of the four Templars he had sent there to find that Orlesian Maleficar, the Blood Mage Marius. It was clear that the four Templars had fought their way through the gangs of thugs and mercenaries, some with clear signs of having been puppets through Blood Magic, more deaths upon the hands of the Maleficar. They had then found and cornered the Blood Mage who had been performing some kind of dark spell in a cellar filled with bodies. Then things became strange.

According to the mage who had been assigned to aid to his investigation, a seemingly devout woman who saw her proper place in the order of things named Marissa Theo had begun babbling about the strangest of things. She ranted about dark things not of the Fade but something worse, of things which made mockeries of hope and progress, of a library of forbidden knowledge. She then continued ranting about strange creatures which cackled and wept, with flames of ever-changing colors, of a librarian that twisted the form of man and bird.

Mages, he thought with a grunt. Even the ones who you thought were trained and sanctioned likely contained the seeds of madness. He had the mage knocked out and put under guard, for now there was the possibility of a demon on the loose in the city. They had found the bodies of the Templars hacked up and burned as if each of them had been slain by a weapon enchanted with fire, they then found tracks leading out of the slum house and into the muddy streets.

There was then the report by the local City Watch of an Orlesian Chevalier in Silverite armor who wielded a battle-axe which burned with white fire and slew many guards. Could it be that this Chevalier was connected? Most likely he deduced, but why? It was possible that this Chevalier was a Reaver, a foul dabbler in Blood Magic. He had fought such madmen in the past and the experience of it was one of many etched upon his body. Such was the danger of Blood Magic that even those not born with the curse of magic could learn to wield it.

The height of the Chevalier was also quite unusual according to the report; either this Chevalier was a very tall and broad man… or what if the Chevalier were a Qunari? It would account for the height. He was aware that there were Qunari who traveled along the lands of men, some claimed to be merchants, and some were supposedly sell swords. He himself had met more than a few and learned that those he met had claimed to see the falseness of their pagan faith, could it be that this Chevalier were one? A Qunari who had converted to the true faith of the Maker and become an Orlesian Chevalier? It was unlikely and yet… a possibility. Regardless of whether it was a demon, a Reaver, or a Qunari on the loose, it was his duty to both the people of this city and the Chantry to hunt down and bring this stranger to justice.

He quietly cursed the guards for killing most of the thieves who could have told him what happened, they had found one injured who was still unconscious with the bones under his chest broken. The Templar had already requested for the injured man to be tended to with magic so he may personally question him. While normally he would not bother with petty criminals unless it was out of self-defense or if somehow it had been in the Chantry's interest, there were times during his searches and investigations that even simple brigands could offer useful information. By the accounts of the surviving watchmen, there was one another thief fighting alongside the Chevalier.

He wondered if this thief was a puppet of the Chevalier, or perhaps someone actively working with him? a possibility. The Templar cursed again, he just did not have enough information. Whatever was going on he needed to find this Chevalier, and fast before he escaped the city, already he had heard talk from some of the watchmen about Orlesian saboteurs or spies. It was hardly the time to bring up old grudges with the Darkspawn sightings to the south in the wilds and Maleficars loose all around the kingdom. He swore to the Maker that he would get to the bottom of his, and that he would avenge the deaths of his comrades.

Suddenly noticing a presence to his right, the Templar looked in that direction to see the face Bernard Marqand, a reformed brigand who now served the Chantry. Looking to the quiet and unassuming man with black hair which was balding, his face was of the kind that would easily blend with a crowd, he was clad in a full set of leather armor, he knew that despite seemingly unarmed at the moment, Bernard would be armed to the teeth in cleverly concealable weapons. He wondered how long he had been standing there.

'What do you have for me?' said Darius in a formally authoritative tone.

'Report of a break-in not far from here sir' said the rogue with a formal bow 'a merchant's home a few blocks away'

A break-in? Thought the Templar, while this part of Denerim was not exactly the safest with crimes happening quite regularly, he thought that perhaps it may be a waste of time to investigate. Yet… what if this thief who was spotted working with the Chevalier was there? Could the merchant have had any blasphemous or forbidden objects which could be useful to a Maleficar? Stranger things have happened in the past. His instincts told him that he should check into this just to be sure.

'Investigate it' commanded the Templar

'Maker's will be done' said the rogue who turned about-face and headed off into the direction of the merchant's home. Hearing the footsteps of one of the watchmen he looked in the direction to see a grizzled looking man in his middling years with a scar over his left eye, the respective ocular organ was milky white.

'What should we do now sir? Asked the man who was clearly a City Watch Sergeant, his voice was deep and raspy as if someone had taken a razor to it

'Burn it' commanded the Templar grimly 'This building has been desecrated and only by flame will it be cleansed'. The Watchman nodded and began bellowing out orders, teams of men began preparing buckets of water in case the fire spread as other men began hurling torches upon the building, as small fires began to appear and slowly spread, his mind turned back to the Chevalier, and what form of execution should be meted out once he was found.

* * *

Night had fallen upon Denerim with many of its inhabitants either having already returned home to their homes while others had gone out to engage in all manners of nightly activities. In the home of Kallian Tabris all had been quiet save for the soft snores of her father, the elf woman quietly crept towards the front door of her home, clad in her rough leather armor which had been cleaned and dried, surprisingly by their guest. When her hand made contact with the handle of the door, she looked back to see the warrior, Khorieus still sleeping in front of the hearth, his magnificent fur cloak had been cleaned and dried as well, now it served him as a bedding upon the wooden floorboards of their house.

Gently opening the door, she went out into the cold night air of the Alienage, the moon was covered by the clouds and the only sources of light were the few lanterns and sputtering torches which hung outside the building. Taking in a deep breath of the comfortingly familiar fetid smell of the Alienage, she felt relieved to be alone for now. She was a bit surprised to see the warrior actually doing their laundry earlier, she then saw him use the magic fire of his axe to dry their garments.

With a swift and silent stride she made her way to a clear area behind her house, often she would use this place to practice and train her fighting skills. She passed by a few familiar faces along the way, some were drunks returning home, some were beggars with no roofs over their heads, others were a bit more like her. Giving a friendly greeting to those who acknowledged her, she knew that within the Alienage, her kin would not turn a predatory gaze to their friends and neighbors.

At the clearing between the homes of others, she pulled out her daggers and began a series of exercises her mother had taught her. With a deft series of thrusts and slashes towards an imaginary opponent, she weaved and dodged blows which would had have been deadly, she altered her stance between the defensive and aggressive, she imagined she fought large numbers of men and adjusted her tactics accordingly. The clouds broke to reveal the silvery face of moon, she remembered a story her mother had told her about how the moon and star came to be.

'_Long ago when the world was young'_ her mother had said '_the only things to exist were the World and Sun. The Sun had bowed its head, curious to see the World. Where they touched, the Elgar'nan the All-father was born.'_ Kallian had wondered if her mother had meant the Maker but at the time she had been too captivated by her mother's tale to question.

_'Joy came to the hearts of the Sun and World as any mother and father would bear towards their child, in the joy of the World, she birthed the trees, the birds and all of life as we know it. The All-father praised his mother and knew happiness as he walked upon her surface.'_

'_The Sun's joy then turned to jealousy and anger as he saw the favor of their child upon the World. In rage he burned and scorched the plants and animals of the World. The World then wept tears which would become the ocean and her wounds would become the rivers and lakes. Angered at the harm done to the world, the All-father challenged the Sun to a duel and two battled for a millennia, in their duel the wounds and blood of the Sun became the stars and the in the end the All-father had won by casting the Sun in a deep abyss created by the World's sorrow.'_

'_Darkness covered the World with only the stars, the blood of the Sun to remind the World of what had happened. Seeking to console his mother, the All-father tried to breathe life back to what the Sun had destroyed, he did not know that without the sun life could not grow anew. The World told the All-father of this, but he would have none of it, his anger and vengeance towards the Sun still raged like and inferno and so the world remained in darkness.'_

'_In this time came Mythal The Great Protector, born of the tears of the World, she came to the All-father and pleaded for him to release the Sun. So touched was he by the words of the Great Protector that he realized his anger had blinded him, with his mind changed he went to the abyss where the Sun had been buried. The All-father spoke to the Sun and promised to forgive his father if the Sun promised as well to be gentle to the World. Having grown remorseful, the Sun agreed and was freed, he rose high above the World and with his warmth life flourished once more.'_

'_When the Sun had gone to sleep that night, Mythal gathered the glowing pieces of the World from which they slept, she formed the pieces into a sphere and brought it to the sky and placed it among the stars. To this day, that sphere remained, a constant reminder of the love between the Sun and the World and a reflection to the glory of the Sun'_

With a smile Kallian remembered the story, it was likely just some fairy tale her mother had cooked up, still it was a comforting thing to reminisce upon. The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, she had a feeling something was watching her, quickly moving into a defensive stance she surveyed the area around her.

Hearing a soft squelch of mud, one almost impossible to hear, she swiftly turned to the direction of the sound and she saw the warrior, Khorieus standing between the walls of an alley, his white fur cloak was wrapped around him and his hood which she was surprised to see resembled a massive cat-like creature was over his head, its teeth she saw still looked sharp as it touched the flesh upon his forehead. How long had he been there? Stepping from the shadows, she could have sworn the air around him shimmered like heat during summer.

'Can't sleep?' she asked not knowing what else to say.

The warrior looked to her, his cold eyes seemed unnerving in the darkness, gently he shook his head and pointed his left hand at her, he said something in his strange lilting language. He then stepped forward into the clearing and began to move around as if he were attacking something, she then realized that he was imitating her moves and he had done so perfectly he then began to slow down and he began to exaggerate it, he then pointed to her again.

'I don't move like that!' she said a bit annoyed, the warrior stopped and gazed at her once more

'Your strike, wild, no refine' said the warrior slowly in the common tongue, the one he insisted was the language of wherever this Albion is. 'Move like water, have grace' he said.

Kallian snorted at the warrior's words 'Why don't you show me then?' she said mockingly. The warrior nodded and he pulled the animal head hood of his cloak back and he pushed back the furs which were wrapped around him. She saw that he was clad in a silken robe of white and red. The red cloth was written in strange sigils of a flowing script she could not understand, she could swear that at the corner of her eye the words danced and changed shaped.

The white cloth caught the moon's glow giving the warrior along with his pale skin and hair a ghostly glow that was both eerie and wondrous at the same time. The warrior then pulled a knife from under one of his sleeves, it was an elegant thing of a design she had never seen. With the knife in his right hand he gestured with the other hand for her to come at him.

She gave him a curious look and asked if he was sure, he said something in his language again and gestured with his hand again. Nodding with understanding she dashed towards the warrior, her boots pattered upon the muddy ground. With a thrust of both daggers the warrior jumped back to avoid her strike which would have swept multiple opponents. She came towards him again and struck once more, her right handed dagger shooting forward and retracting at the last moment while simultaneously her left one stabbed forward, the warrior easily slapped her left hand away and she drove up her right knee, aiming for his groin.

To her surprise the warrior intercepted her knee kick with his right hand and with a shove from his left hand he pushed her away. She was pushed back by several steps from the force of his push, adrenaline began course through her and sweat began to appear more freely upon her brow, she had never fought anyone so fast in her life, it was as if he anticipated all of her moves. With a grin, she had to admit she was actually kind of having fun here, charging towards him again, they continued to dance and spar under the moonlit sky.

* * *

Authors Note: This story will have absolutely no affect on the non-cross over Warhammer stories I am still doing, especially the Knight of Khaine series. Think of this as a totally separate non canonish thing. Also, I am writing this entire thing with knowledge from the 1st Dragon Age Game, as such I may probably make some mistakes about stuff here and there because I have not read the books or played Dragon Age II, so feel free to point stuff out.


	2. Arhain

Kneeling down in front of the statue of the Prophet Andraste, Templar Jacob Darius clenched his gauntleted hands together as he whispered his prayers. With reverence he renewed his holy vows, first as a devout follower of the Maker, then his vow as a Templar to protect the world from the dangers of magic. When his prayers had finished he slowly rose and made the sign of the Prophet.

Often when he would perform these prayers, he would enter a sort of meditative trance which calmed him and helped him clear his mind. Unfortunately this time his prayer did nothing to calm the turmoil within. Five days had already passed since the incident at the slum house with the death of his brothers, five days it has been and they were nowhere even closer into finding that Chevalier. For five days the murderer had been free to do whatever nefarious things were being plotted.

There was that thief who had been spotted as well to consider. His information about the thief came from another street rat who simply said it was a female elf, as if learning the culprit was an elf would make any difference. Trying to find one particular elf thief with no specific details on his or her identity was like trying to find a needle in a haystack for Alienages tended to be filled with criminal scum. When he was finished with the street rat, he had given his prisoner to the City Watch, likely they would hang him or lock him up, Darius could hardly care.

Then there was the break-in at that merchant's house, the guard who was protecting the place during the night of the robbery knew nothing for the lout had been asleep the whole time. The merchant in question had been too busy to deal with the Templar's inquiries for he had been bombarded with various problems both professional and personal. It was even to the point that some serious charges were being pressed, the kind that could see the man hanged for dealing with a number of illegal activities.

Already he was losing the City Watch's support due to the baffling increase in criminal activity. When the King called to rally the army to the south, many soldiers from Denerim had left, leaving the watch undermanned and like the craven rats they were, every petty thief and cutthroat saw their opportunity. Thus the City Watch, despite sharing his demand for justice and to see their dead avenged were simply too stretched thin. He supposed he should commend them for doing what must be done to carry out their duties; he would if his internal anger did not burn so brightly.

It always vexed him at how blind the common folk could be to the true dangers around them. How could they understand? Most folk had never seen what happens to a mage who lost control. To see the flesh and bone mutate and change into unnatural forms, to fight face to face with an abomination, to fight the dark things which waited within the Fade, seeking their chance to claim mortal flesh to sate their terrible urges.

In the end, he supposed that he should feel glad that they do not, for only brave men and women with the greatest of physical, mental and most importantly, spiritual strength could handle such a burden without succumbing to madness. Even among the ranks of the Templars there were those who had chinks in their armor, whose faith and will, were not enough, those who could fall to the terrible threat posed by the mage and the demon.

Sighing with frustration he made his way out of the local Chantry chapel within Denerim's Market District. As he passed through the double doors of the Chantry, he was greeted with the warm late morning sun, reaching into a satchel on the side of his belt; he pulled out a small blue phial of Lyrium. Removing the stopper, he placed the phial over his lips and eagerly drank the alchemical mix; it had always amused him that the thing which could empower a mage's spell is what gave him the ability to strike them down.

He had vowed that he would not rest, and that he would find this "Chevalier" bastard, and he would personally see to his execution. Already he had his best men scouring the city for information, his orders to them were to investigate and gather information on the known Orlesians within the city as well as any possible Qunari activity. Soon he thought, soon he will find this murderer.

* * *

'Welcome to the Wonders of Thedas.' said the bald, dark-skinned shop keeper, he wore robes of brown and green, most unusually was his voice which had a strange emotionless tone to it. 'We carry items crafted by the Circle, as well as a variety of antiquities' he continued. 'Is there anything you would like to see?'

Kallian Tabris looked to her companion who replied in his deep baritone voice 'I see what you sell'.

Currently, Kallian was clad in a set of commoner's clothing; her outfit was simple and made her easy to blend in with the crowd. Her companion on the other hand insisted on wearing his white and red robes for he had disdained the clothes she had purchased for him.

How none of the guards or anyone else in fact had given him any strange looks, or for the matter, had even noticed when he was wearing such foreign clothes was beyond her. It probably had something to do with whatever magic was within that white fur cloak of his that would cause the air shimmer around him. She had asked him during their second night about it as they sparred and his response at the time was 'Grey Wind, _Ulgu, _Shadow Magic'.

For the past few days the City Watch's searched for him still continued but due to the rise in crime lately, the thinly stretched City Watch simply had to move on to the more numerous of problems. It likely had something to do with all those soldiers leaving a few weeks ago. Kallian herself had wanted to get back out there, and take a few opportunities herself, but things were getting rather dangerous out there as the City Watch had been increasing their patrols and even hiring a few mercenaries. She also did not want to further worry her father, as he often would after a heist; there was also their guest she had to look after.

The shopkeeper nodded and the two began to browse his wares. She noted that Khorieus skill in speaking the common language was getting better. For the past days she had been trying to teach him their language (with a bit of help from the Elder, her father and Shianni of whom was enthusiastic about it) and he had proven to be an extraordinarily swift learner.

She had asked him how he learned so quickly and all he said was 'Human speech crude, guttural, lack _Asai_, no _Onai_'.

They looked at the merchant's selection of staves, robes, potions, a book, some pretty glowing crystals and strange stones with symbols etched upon them. The warrior then looked to the merchant and shook his head; she could see he was a bit frustrated at this. The strange shop keeper gave them a polite nod and the warrior walked away towards the front door she guessed that whatever he may have wanted to find was not there.

Leaving the shop, they emerged into the muddy streets of the Market District, the late morning sun was pleasantly warm today. It was a nice change from the cold gloom and the freezing rain which had been passing for the last three days. She noted the look of barely concealed frustration and disappointment on the warrior's face.

'At least you got that map right?' she said while looking up to the warrior who looked down to her with a grim nod.

The previous day when she had been browsing the wares at Alarith's shop, she had found a map of Ferelden which Alarith ensured her was current, while she did not have enough money to buy it at the time, she did return to her home and told Khorieus about it. He had given her the exact price in silvers and asked her to buy it for him. When she had returned and given him the map, he thanked her and spent the rest of the day studying it.

In the few days she had known Khorieus, she realized that she knew so little about him. He was very quiet, not one for small talk, he only spoke when he needed to and it was frustrating to her. She wanted to learn more about this strange foreigner, she knew early on since that first night there was something different and alien about him.

She wasn't really sure if she believed his story about coming from another world, but he was like nothing she had ever seen. He had an unnatural air of grace and nobility, yet at the same time there was something wild and feral about him. She knew that she owed him for healing her and she genuinely wanted to help him, but Khorieus had been very tight-lipped about his affairs and she did not want to do anything to offend him.

The two of them quietly made their way back to the Alienage, although he did not carry his axe with him, she knew he concealed his knife underneath one of his sleeves and she had seen how deadly he could be with that alone. Anyone who could kill a Mabari with a knife quite easily, not even with a proper dagger was someone she would avoid starting an unnecessary fight with.

As they traveled through the Market District, she began sniffing the air for she had picked up the delectable smell of some of the freshly baked pies being sold by one of the stalls. Moving towards the stall, she looked at the sign and it was in some fancy Orlesian sounding name. The stall owner was a portly man in a white tunic and apron with a bald head and beardless face which made him looked a bit like an oversized baby. The stall owner continued hawking towards the crowd in an Orlesian accent and inviting them to try his meat pies.

When she arrived at the stall she looked at what was available, set in neatly organized rows, there were small pieces of flat wood at the front of each row with a delicately red-painted set of words in Orlesian. She had no idea what they were but the one which seemed the most expensive was a "Canard" which she saw was outrageously worth six silvers. She sighed and remembered that she had been gambling with a few friends the previous day, it had left her almost penniless.

The stall owner gave her a brief, annoyed looked and gestured with his hands to shoo away before he went back to hawking his wares. Well the rest of the pies were too expensive for her anyway, most of them were of a price range of at least two to four silvers and the cheapest being silver and fifty bits. She was sure that she could find some cheaper ones elsewhere and hope she did not get the runs. Looking back to Khorieus, she was about to tell him that they should go but she then she saw him speaking to the stall owner.

'I buy please' the warrior simply said and he began pointing at a number of meat pies, each one was twice the size of Kallian's fist.

Khorieus then reached into his coin pouch and produced a whole sovereign, the stall owner looked surprised and he bit the coin first to see if it was real. The human looked surprised when it did not break and he suddenly smiled and began wrapping several pies with a papery foil.

'Merci! Merci! My lord!' said the stall owner cheerily as he wrapped the pies.

Kallian gave the warrior a surprised look; for he had purchased ten pies from the stall. Khorieus then produced a cloth sack she realized wa one of the spare ones she would used during heists. The stall owner began to gingerly place the pies into the sack and handed the warrior his change. When the transaction was complete he thanked the warrior and her as well, she noted the stall owner's attitude towards her had suddenly become friendlier.

Khorieus looked to Kallian and he nodded 'To your home' was all he said as he reached into the sack and handed her one of the pies.

Reaching for it, she felt the heat from the pie through the wrapping and she gave the pie a long reverent look, she thanked the strange warrior and bit in, savoring its flaky buttery goodness as well as the savory taste of the saucy meat inside. It was perhaps the best thing she ever had.

* * *

Looking to Kallian as she bit into the pie and began to softly moan in appreciation for its taste, Khorieus thought that at the least she was enjoying the food. He was grateful that she had given him a safe place to rest and recover his strength ever since he had arrived in this world. Buying her a meal was the least he could do as thanks, looking to one of the pies though he was not sure if he was going to enjoy what was going to come next.

In his travels across the Old World, his overall opinion of human culinary skills was that it was as crude as their culture. He had found most human foods to either overcompensate with too much ingredients that the taste was overpowering or too little and bland. There was no balance of taste to it, none of the simplicity that the _Asur_ could make; there was also the worry that the ingredients were improperly stored.

Praying to Isha that he does not come down with some sort of intestinal malady, Khorieus unwrapped one pie and bit into it, his opinion on human cuisine was unchanged. He found the taste to be an overpowering mix of salty and savory, he chewed and swallowed before continuing to eat it in silence. Although he had grown used to eating human food, he had found that at least this pie was far from the worst, better than those "Mystery Meat" ones sold in the Empire which he was rather sure was made from rats, dogs and cats and were major causes of dysentery among the humans.

Khorieus was displeased, but had somewhat expected that the magic store did not have what he sought, he himself had no idea how he would even find some sort of arcane device which would allow him to traverse through different planes of reality. Although he had the map, and now had a general idea that he should keep going west to find Lake Calenhad, he knew not how long the path would take. For all he knew it could take weeks, months even, and he had no idea what he might encounter in the wilds. He would have to stock up on supplies and gather more information before leaving.

As they made their way past the gatehouse which would lead them to the bridge and over the river back to the Alienage, Khorieus used the power of his cloak to conceal himself. He had the feeling that he and Kallian were being watched; he looked back without stopping and narrowed his eyes. A grim look came upon his face, they were…

* * *

Bernard Marquand had been waiting by the pie seller's stall, he became confident that the Orlesian vendor who happened to be new to the city was not the man they were looking for. He would have to report to the Templar that the stall owner was a dead-end.

Then he saw that pretty elf girl arrive, he spent a few moments just looking at her from the side, with her lovely pale skin and black hair. Impure thoughts briefly coursed through his mind. In his old life, he would have thought nothing about ravishing beauties like her. No, he thought he was a married man with a wife and a son waiting for him in Amaranthine, he was a reformed and pious man now. He had found the forgiveness and redemption of the Prophet and the Maker and he had dedicated his life to protecting people now.

He had shaken his head and closed his eyes, he whispered a mantra-like prayer to the Prophet and the Maker and he resolved that needed to absolve himself later. When he had opened his eyes he suddenly saw that strange, tall, and pale mage looking fellow had appeared by the stall. He was dressed in robes of white and red, and he wore a pristine white fur cloak. He could have sworn the mage was not there a second ago, but it looked to the shop keeper as if he were dealing with just another customer.

He heard the mage talk to the stall owner and make his transaction; Bernard noted that the mage had a foreign accent, but not Orlesian. There was something strange about this mage, something that just did not seem right. It was not just the lack of a staff, but also something… off about him. The former brigand had decided to investigate and he began to trail the two, he saw them make their way to the Alienage and when he simply blinked his eyes, the mage was gone.

Not quite sure of what he saw, he was able to catch a glimpse of the stranger's eyes which were icy blue. He then remembered the report from the watch and one of the surviving men had also mentioned something about the Chevalier having icy blue eyes which seemed to pierce into a man's soul. Could it be? He thought; was that the Chevalier they were hunting? The mage-looking fellow certainly fit the bill with the height and broadness, was he in disguise then?

He remembered a story from another Templar about how he had encountered a Dalish mage who wore a full suite of plate armor and could easily fight with both sword and spell. The mage and the Templar were fighting against a group of Tevinter Blood Mages and after the battle was won, the Templar was forced to leave the Dalish apostate alone for he had been highly outnumbered by many Dalish warriors.

Bernard wondered if it was possible that this stranger could be one of these armored mages, might he also be a Maleficar as well? He then decided that he will follow and watch these two, he will have to be careful for he had a feeling the stranger would be on to him. Bernard Marquand had feeling that this stranger may have something to do with the culprit.

* * *

'Breathe, shoot' came the voice of Khorieus once more.

Kallian who was now wearing her leather armor again, took a deep breath and brought up her cheap elm short bow again. Her right arm which held the bow had perfectly lined up as she reached for an arrow in the quiver which was strapped to her back. Swiftly pulling an arrow out, she placed the feathered end to the string and pulled it back, she exhaled and let the shaft loose. She watched as the arrow flew towards a scarecrow like figure made from sticks, and sacks filled with hay, each being tied together with rope, it was already filled with many arrows.

The arrow struck against the chest of the scarecrow and she grinned. Looking to Khorieus who nodded with a stern look, she noted that he had been more tense ever since they arrived back at the Alienage, she had asked him about it but he remained as tight-lipped as ever. They were located in the same area where they would spar. For days now, in exchange for the language lessons he had been giving lessons with blade and bow. Already Kallian saw the noticeable improvement in her own talents with archery and dual-weapon fighting.

'All right, my turn' came the eager voice of her cousin Shianni who had joined them in their archery sessions.

The Alienage had an unofficial militia of sorts the Elder had set up, every now and then when their neighbors could, they would gather and perform target practice on makeshift scarecrows. Kallian herself though had chosen to focus on the blade skills her mother had taught her.

Shianni certainly had more practice than Kallian with archery, her cousin raised up her bow and drew the string, with an exhale of air she fired and her arrow struck the scarecrow in the head. Her cousin looked to them and grinned, Kallian knew though that her cousin was really looking at Khorieus.

During their first training session Shianni had feigned needing help with her form and had asked the warrior to help her. Kallian had given them a look of amusement and probably more than a hint of envy when Khorieus had placed his arms over her cousin's. He had gently guided Shianni's hands with his own while offering words of advice and encouragement and when she had loosed the arrow it struck the scarecrow over where a man's heart would be.

'Fine shot' Khorieus said 'now for blades'.

Kallian nodded and she handed her bow and quiver to Shianni, she would take the weapons to the Elder's house for storage.

'See you later cousin' Kallian said, Shianni then gave her a friendly smile and grin to Khorieus who politely nodded to her cousin. Removing her daggers from their sheaths, Kallian began taking a few practice swipes of her weapons; she then looked to the warrior and nodded.

This was the part she enjoyed, the part where she would really get that rush of adrenaline. Khorieus had offered some blades lessons as well to Shianni but she had declined saying that she would rather stick with the bow. Her other cousin Soris though had also taken part in at least three sessions, he had joined at Kallian's "insistence" although he ended up with more than a few bruises, he did prove to have some skill with a sword and shield. He had not been able to join in for today as he claimed he had work to do.

'Begin' Khorieus said.

Kallian dashed towards him with daggers held in a reverse grip, she swung her right blade towards his face and switched the direction of her left one to face upwards, she then thrust her left blade forwards. The warrior leaned back in time to avoid her right dagger, its tip only an inch away from cutting his chin, he slapped her left hand dagger away with his right hand, and she leapt back and rolled upon the muddy ground before stopping with her in a kneeling position.

Seeing him charge towards her now wielding a pair of iron daggers as well, she barely managed to parry a twin thrust of his blade with a back-handed wave of her arms. Sparks showered and she thrust her left foot up to his groin, Khorieus had anticipated this and brought forth his own right leg to block her kick. He then swiftly thrust his forehead towards her and she was forced to roll to her left to avoid the head-butt.

Breathing heavily, Kallian grinned and saw that Khorieus was now on a feigned defense. Not falling for the trap, she held back and tried to circle him, the warrior then began to circle as well in the opposite direction. A tense moment of silence passed and she saw a slight curl on the side of the warrior's mouth before he relaxed his stance.

'You improve' he said with a hint of approval 'you learn fast, soon you ready for basics of _Ceylsenarha_'

'What is that?' asked Kallian curiously while relaxing her own as well.

'Old blade style' Khorieus replied 'from Shadow Warriors, Nagarthye'

'Nagarthye?' She asked curiously 'is that part of Ulthuan?'

'Yes' he said grimly 'also named Shadow Lands'

The name sent a chill up Kallian's spine, the way he said it made it sound unnerving. She briefly thought of some bleak twisted land, covered in darkness with trees which resembled more like spikes, and things which waited for the unwary in the shadows. Not exactly the nicest of places to settle down most likely.

There were many things she wanted ask him about his homeland. He said that he would speak of it, but his knowledge of her language would prevent him from doing it any justice. He asked that she wait until his ability to speak her language was more complete.

There was something about him which made her think about the stories of Arlathan. Her mother had told her a few stories about it, how their people were once immortal and living in homes grander than the current kings of men, that each of their people once had great mastery over magic. How it was the humans who looked upon their kind with envy and made war upon her people. Most of the stories she knew though were only old tales and legends, likely with many parts made up to fill the gaps.

'We resume?' asked Khorieus, breaking her train of thought.

'Yes, lets' replied Kallian eagerly

* * *

Sitting upon a chair by a writing desk, Jacob Darius was currently located in his office at the Templar chapter house in Denerim. He held in his hands the report of Bernard Marquand. It was written on a small strip of paper, its letters were in the language of Ander, to which the Templar understood fluently. It said:

_No unusual activity with A.G. _

_Investigating a possible lead, _

_Will contact later_

_ - B.M._

Another dead-end, thought the Templar with frustration mounting. He was wondering, who it could have been to catch Marquand's attention? Could it be the Chevalier or the thief? Only time would tell and he had confidence in Marquand's skill. Hearing a knock on the door he called for the person to come in. When the door opened he heard the heavy clatter of steel plates, looking up he saw the two people before him.

One was a fellow Templar, a tall and strong woman of noble descent, with golden hair which was tied into a bun and eyes of blue he knew as Ser Elena Magdalene. Next to her was a young pretty looking woman with dark skin and brown unkempt hair with green eyes, Darius quickly noted the young woman's blue robes and staff, a mage he thought with a bit of disdain.

Elena was well-known to him for the two of them had hunted Maleficars and Apostates together for twenty years, although he had great respect for her skill and being able to get results when it came to hunting Maleficars and Apostates, he did not approve of her more recent methods in doing so. Elena's style were unorthodox as she would often seek to acquire the services of mages and as well as those non-believers such as dwarves or the Dalish. There were also some of the rumors going about that she cavorted with some of these non-human pagans, but no one has been able to prove it true.

The mage on the other hand he guessed was an Olivia Wells, a mage who had been transferred into his company after his previous one, Marissa Theo had not stopped babbling insanities about the some place called The Inevitable City. Her quarters were found four days ago to be scrawled with strange symbols and writings written in her own blood, she babbled about one called the Everchosen over and over. Darius himself had ended her misery and ordered Marissa's body and quarters to be burned.

This new mage, Olivia Wells was supposedly something of a prodigy according to the papers which were sent to him earlier that day. A staunch member of the Loyalists, skilled in the colleges of the Arcane, Creation and Spirit, the last being especially useful in hunting Maleficars and Apostates. What worried him though, was that according to the mage's papers, this was to be her first assignment in assisting the Templars. The last thing Darius needed was an unproven child.

Rising up from his seat, he gave Elena and the Mage a formal bow and greeted 'Maker's Blessing to you'

'And to you too as well old friend' replied Elena in a friendly tone, she gave him a slight bow before gesture towards the mage in introduction 'And this is Olivia Wells'

'A pleasure Sir' the mage said with a polite curtsy.

Darius greeted her back as well, trying to conceal his disdain. With the formalities ended the Templar wanted to get down to business. With him losing the support of the City Watch, he had requisitioned for aid amongst his fellow Templars, he explained to them the situation with the deaths of Ser Finnick and his party, as well as the possibility of the culprit being an Orlesian Reaver who may or may not be masquerading as a Chevalier.

Elena of course was quick to be on board for this assignment, for she and Finnick were good friends and like Darius, she too sought to avenge their fallen brother. The mage girl took it well and he was surprised at her eagerness to help him catch this had asked her why and she spoke with determination 'Denerim was where I was born, I don't think I would be able to rest well if some Blood Mage were on the loose, preying on innocent people'.

Darius was glad that at the least he would have the full cooperation of all of them. Already he felt that with extra aid, he would be able to catch this Chevalier sooner.

* * *

Bernard Marquand knelt upon the rooftop of one of the Alienage houses; it gave him a good view of the building the robed stranger had been coming in and out of. Earlier he saw the stranger leave with the black-haired elf woman he had seen earlier, he then saw him come back with the same elf woman but also with another one with red hair. He later saw an older elf male enter the home as well.

He wondered, what was going? Was this stranger a member of their family? A friend? Was he the culprit they were looking for? If so were these elves willingly harboring him? Or could they have been puppets? Were he in a human community it would have been easier to bribe or threaten the information of the locals, but it was more difficult with Alienages, for they were usually (but not always) more tight-knit and protective of their kin.

Through the roof tops, he had followed them to a clearing behind the house and he saw the stranger giving the black and red-haired females archery lessons. He was able to hear their names, the black-haired beauty was named Kallian, and the red-haired one of whom he also found rather attractive was named Shianni.

The white-robed stranger had pulled down the animal headed hood of his cloak to reveal a pale skinned white-haired creature, he heard the one Shianni call him Khorieus. During the archery session, the one called Kallian was no great archer, but the other one Shianni had proven much better. The red-haired one then left carrying their bows and quivers, he wanted to follow her and see where the weapons were being taken, but his greater interest had been with the one they called Khorieus.

He watched as the one called Khorieus and the maiden Kallian had both pulled out a pair of daggers and sparred with their blades. He was impressed by the elf woman's skill for she had been fast and skilled, as if she were a natural with a blade. The stranger though he saw was far more skilled, he was stronger and faster as well and it was clear to Bernard's trained eyes that the stranger was holding back.

When the two had finished, he saw the red-haired female return to them. They spoke for a little while before returning to the house. While he had watched the house, he used the time to write his report regarding the stall owner and his new lead. He needed to send his report to the Templar but at the same time he needed to watch the house.

It was fortunate that he saw an elf beggar wandering the streets, Bernard had then descended from the rooftops and he went to the beggar. He offered to pay him two silvers to deliver the message along with his seal proving his association with the Templar Order, he would pay the beggar three more silvers if he returned to this spot with the seal. When the beggar left, he continued to watch the house for an hour. The beggar eventually returned and after being given back his seal and a note from Templar Darius, acknowledging that he received the letter, Bernard had held up his end of the bargain and paid the beggar.

The sun had already set and the moon had risen and the only ones he had seen leave were the red-haired one and the older elf. He wondered if perhaps there was some sort of underground tunnel or perhaps an entrance to the sewers. He cursed and wondered at the possibility.

Already he began to grow tired from his watch; he had not been prepared for a stake out like this. For the entire time he had watched and waited under the warm sun which grew hotter and now it had grown so very cold, he had already missed two meals today thus leaving him hungry, thirsty and tired. He quietly cursed himself for getting too used to "soft living" in this city, years earlier when he had still been an outlaw, he was quite used to going for days without food. He remembered that he also needed to report back in, again he cursed himself for not coming prepared, he was unsure of what course of action to take.

As he thought about his predicament, he noticed the door to the house open; he looked down to see it was the stranger. His eyes widened in surprise for he saw the stranger was now clad in armor of silverite, with a white cloak over him the Chevalier! he thought with alarm

He had spotted the culprit, the one they were searching for. He knew that he needed to get word to Templar Darius and gather the other Templars so they may bring this murderer to justice. He looked down to see the stranger walk towards the Vhenadahl tree, the stranger stopped to look up at the tree before he began to circle around it. He saw the stranger disappear behind the tree and then… nothing. Bernard Marquand grew alarmed, where did the stranger go?

He looked to the sides of the tree and he muttered a profanity, with the darkness of the night it had already become hard to see far away in the dark. He rose up and moved towards his right, he wanted to get a look around to see if he was just standing behind, he made his way across the roof tops to the next series of houses. He alternated between looking to the roof top and to the tree, when he was finally able to see the area where the stranger had disappeared he found nothing.

Magic! He thought, that's the only possible way the stranger had escaped. But how? Could he have cast some sort of spell of teleportation? Or a spell of invisibility? His thoughts began to race and then it hit him. Of course, he should question one of the two women or the older man. Looking down he saw several elves were already returning to their homes from the daily labors. He knew that he would need to report back now and gather the Templars. Descending from the roof tops and sticking to the shadows, he quietly made his way back to the chapter house.

* * *

Watching from the shadows, as the enchantments of _Ulgu_ within his cloak hid him from mortal sight, Khorieus saw the quiet human leave the Alienage. He had known all day that this one was watching and observing both Kallian and he. He did not know who this human was or what he wanted, but whatever was the case, the High Elf swore to Kurnous that he would find out what the human knew, even if it meant tearing the information out one bloody cut at a time.

The man moved with a surprising degree of speed and stealth, while certainly no _Autarii_, he had to admit this one was skilled, for a human. Following the human through the streets and darkened alleyways, Khorieus already had his bow ready, an arrow had already been set by the bowstring and arcane rime began to appear over the arrow-head. When the man had led him to an alleyway with no others beings in sight, Khorieus whispered a prayer to Kurnous. Raising his Ellyrian crafted bow he drew the string and shouted in their language, 'Hey!' before firing the arrow.

The human turned to look at Khorieus, the _Asur_ saw the man's surprised look as he saw the ice coated projectile fly towards him. His surprise was soon followed by a shriek of pain as the arrow struck the man through his right thigh causing him to fall to the muddy ground. The arrow should have struck the bones and broken them, already the enchantment upon it had already caused the man's wound to blacken with frostbite. Swiftly moving towards the downed man, the human was able to look up to the Chracian in time to get an _Ithilmar_ boot to the face.

* * *

'What do you mean he is not here?' Kallian asked her father with alarm.

The sparring sessions between her and Khorieus had been very tiring and strenuous. She had sat down upon her bed to rest while feeling sore from the session, the warrior had then offered to relieve the pain and he had massaged her aching muscles. The next thing she knew, she was smelling her father's cooking and was quickly surprised to not find the warrior around.

'He was not here when I came in' her father said 'was he not with you all day?'

'He was, but…' said Kallian as she looked around their home, she saw Khorieus armor, cloak, axe and bow were gone, but she saw that he had left his robes folded neatly upon one of the chairs by the dining table. She had also seen that his pack was still propped near the hearth by the wall and she saw the map was still rolled up on the table near the keg. Perhaps he had just gone out for a stroll? But why would he bring his weapons and armor with him?

'I am sure he will return' her father said before going back to the cooking pot. Kallian's father had seemed to be taking their guests stay quite well, it was not as if Khorieus had been making himself a burden, the warrior surprisingly had helped them do the laundry as well as keep the house tidy. She had also seen the warrior give coins to her father as if he were paying rent.

She wondered if she should see her cousin Shianni, if she had seen Khorieus. Maybe he had gone to her home!? She wondered with more than a bit of alarm. She had seen the way her cousin was around him, yet Kallian was not sure what Khorieus thought about them, he often seemed to either be looking dour, frustrated, aloof or expressionless and only thrice she had seen him with the barest hint of a smile. Kallian found herself unsure on what to think on the matter

'oh sod it' she said with resignation and decided that she should pay Shianni a visit.

* * *

Groaning in pain, Bernard Marquand wearily opened his eyes and found only darkness. He felt so hungry, thirsty and tired at the same time he had felt the pain. He tasted copper and something warm in his mouth, he suddenly realized that it was blood. Licking his tongue around the inside of his mouth, he found two of his front teeth were now loose. Trying to move around, he found that he could not move his arms and legs and he realized that he was tied to a chair.

Looking around the dark room, her began to breathe faster, he began sniffing the air and he found it to be musty, and stale. He had a feeling that he was underground somewhere, but then he caught something strange, he thought he could smell spices and herbs. As he tried to identify the smell, he heard a faint whisper and suddenly he saw the glow of orange lights, the lights appeared in strange elegant symbols he had never seen before, it looked as if some were even changing shape before his very eyes.

The Chevalier! he realized, cursing himself for a fool for getting himself captured by a Maleficar, and he cursed this murderous fiend's black heart. He heard a faint whisper once more and the orange lights turned white and burst into ghostly flames. He then saw that the ghostly pale skinned figure of the Chevalier, he was clad in a white fur cloak and a suit of silverite plate armor which was of a design he had never seen before, clearly not Orlesian. It looked as if it were both beautiful and serviceable at the same time.

The Stranger was wearing a strange pointy helmet and he could see his cold icy blue eyes.

'You will get nothing from me, Maleficar' hissed Bernard through gritted teeth as he looked the stranger in the eye

The Stranger's expression was emotionless like that of a Tranquil, he then asked in a curious tone 'Why you watch me?'

'You know why, murderer!' replied Bernard with hostility

'You guardsman?' asked the Stranger icily.

'You will get nothing from me!' Bernard repeated

The Stranger coldly glared at him, there was something unnerving about the look in the Stranger's eyes. In his own lifetime, Bernard Marquand has fought Blood Mages, Apostates, Qunari, Crows, Demons, Abominations, the Hungering Dead and men who engaged in all sorts of depravities. But the threatening look in this Stranger's eyes chilled him to his very soul, he realized that there was something different, almost otherworldly about him.

The Stranger then raised his axe to his side and it ignited a torch. He then whispered something in a lilting tongue and the axe's fires died away, leaving only the light of the torch. Through the torchlight, Bernard could see that he was in a small cellar, similar to the one where the Maleficar and the Templars were found dead. Abandoned buildings like this were common in the more lawless areas of Denerim where people often got robbed or murdered in the streets.

The Stranger then set his axe by one of the dark corners where Bernard thought he could see a bow and a quiver. The Stranger then removed his fur cloak and he neatly folded it next to the weapons, he then went back to Bernard.

'I give warning' he said in a low and threatening voice 'Tell me why you follow, and no pain for you, and you live. Do not tell, and I force you, with pain you never know'

'Sod off you monster!' cursed Marquand and he spat bloody phlegm on the Stranger's face.

The Stranger's expression did not change, he wiped the blood away and he reached for something on the side of his belt. He then drew an elegant curved knife of a design he had never seen before, it looked to be made from White Steel. The warrior then looked Bernard in the eye and spoke.

'In my homeland, there is place called Nagarthye. Also named Shadow Lands, is home to Warriors of Shadows. They fight eternal war against _Druchii' _Bernard noted the hatefulness in the Stranger's tone at the last word.

'They learn many from war with _Druchii_. Hate, Vengeance, Sacrifice, Murder, Pain, many things. I live with Warriors of Shadow, learn much from them, now **you** learn…'

* * *

Hearing a gentle series of knocks on the front door, Kallian awoke from her sleep. Her home was dimly lighted by a few melted wax candles and the embers from the heart. All night she had waited for Khorieus by the dining table must have dozed off. She had asked her cousin Shianni if she had seen the warrior and found that her cousin did not see him at all.

Trying to shake away her grogginess, she went to the door, she looked back to the bedroom and cold hear the soft snores of her father. When she opened the door she saw it was Khorieus, the warrior wore the armor she had thought was Silverite, but he had called _Ithilmar_.

'Where were you!?' whispered Kallian while trying to be quiet and not disturb her father's sleep 'Do you know how worried I was!?'

Khorieus gave her a bow and said 'I apologize, I desire no problem for you'

With a soft grunt, Kallian stepped aside and allowed him in. She noted that he was carrying one of her spare sacks again, and it was filled.

'Did you steal something?' she asked with a mix of alarm and curiosity

'No' said the warrior 'I earn, you have, as gift. Gratitude for letting me stay'

The warrior then placed the sack on the dining table, he began taking out several items which were partially illuminated by the candles. She saw the first was a full set of dark grey studded leather armor; it was made of a much higher quality material than her own armor. Then there was a pair of bright red daggers which softly glowed in the dark, then there was a white crossbow and a quiver of bolts. There was also a belt, two rings and an amulet, each one was quite beautiful in their own ways.

Her eyes widened at these "gifts" for each was something she had only seen in the wares of merchants but never had the money to afford it. Shaking away her astonishment, she looked to Khorieus 'Are you sure you did not steal these?'

'I am Highborn of Ulthuan' replied Khorieus 'Thievery not honorable, I earn'

'Were you followed?' she asked, choosing to ignore the jab at her profession.

'No' he said 'I move swift and quiet'. Kallian gave him a long hard look, she really could not tell with him, it was like reading the expression of a rock.

'Well fine then, thank you' sighed Kallian with resignation. She saw Khorieus setting his cloak down in front of the hearth again and placing his weapons near it, as the warrior began to remove his armor, Kallian could not help but feel a bit worried.

* * *

Sister Siobhan of the Denerim Chantry grunted as she worked the pulley of the well. She pulled with all of her might to get the bucket of water up, when it finally reached the top she sighed with relief as sweat began to appear upon her brow. Deciding to take a sip before bringing the water inside the chapel so they could begin mopping, she lifted the rim of the bucket to her lips.

She felt the refreshingly cool water touch her lips and flow into her mouth, there was a strange taste though, it was metallic, coppery. She began to smell the water and the realization hit her, blood, the well tasted of blood!

* * *

'Maker Breath' muttered Templar Darius as he pulled over the soggy blanket which covered the body. It revealed the eyeless face of Bernard Marquand, to his horror he even saw that Bernard's tongue was cut out. By the Maker, what was Darius going to tell Marquand's wife? Anger burned within him, he knew it was the Chevalier, it had to be. The Market District's Watch Leader, a Sergeant Kylon believed it was the work of some of the local criminals. He mentioned how the well in front of the chapel was sometimes used to dispose of bodies.

He saw that horrible look on the corpse's face, the Templar deduced that Bernard was in a great deal of pain, likely he had died screaming as well. He knew Bernard well and it just seemed impossible, the two men had fought alongside each other for many years and he knew the man was made of stern stuff. Pulling down more of the blanket, he saw that Bernard was killed with his throat slit, as he looked more upon the body he found the man was also robbed of his dignity.

His enchanted leather armor and weapons were gone, he was clad only in his undergarments, he saw several cuts bruises and burns across his arms, and torso. He saw that Bernard's finger's were horribly bent and mutilated and as he looked further down, he saw the man's legs were blackened with frostbite. Most horribly was that his stomach was cut open and several of his entrails were exposed. He even saw that some of the man's organs were mutilated as well.

Quickly covering the body and feeling his bile rise, he wanted to vomit like the noble born fops which had recently joined the Market's Watch. Taking a deep breath and trying to clear his head, he saw Elena and the Mage approaching him.

'It's Bernard isn't it?' asked Elena with a mix of sadness and anger. She too had considered a Bernard a comrade, it was she who helped reform the former outlaw. Elena had even attended Bernard's wedding and had become good friends with his wife.

'I am sorry to hear what happened sir' the Mage girl said with sympathy 'I hear he was a good man, I am sure he is with the Maker now'

'He was' said Darius with a hard look, his gauntleted fists clenched tightly. That is now five members of Andraste's holy followers who were now dead. All slain by that Chevalier, he wanted to shout and to scream to the Maker, but he held it in. With grim determination his resolve in finding this bastard increased.

* * *

Lying down upon his white fur cloak, Khorieus kept to his own silent council of what he had learned. It seemed that the human he had "questioned" was an associate of some religious order, much like those brutish Witch Hunters of the Empire. It seemed that the knights he had killed on the first night he arrived in this world were members of these so-called Templars. They thought him to be some sort of sorcerer, a "Maleficar" as the man insisted on calling him.

It did not surprise the Chracian that the humans of this world could be just as fanatical as the ones in his. He really would have let the human live with only minor maiming had he not slipped his knowledge of the High Elf's association with Kallian, and Shianni. The human knew too much and he needed to be blinded and silenced for he knew not what sorcery the people of this world were capable of.

He knew that he would need to leave this city soon and head for Lake Calenhad and find those Mages. But if what he had learned from the human was true, then there would be more of these Templars there at the Mage Tower. One bridge at a time he thought to himself. He needed to leave as soon as possible, his presence would only endanger Kallian and her family. The road of the _Asur_ was always one fraught with peril; he thought to himself.


	3. A Day for Celebration

**Author's Note: As a heads up there is going to be a lot and I mean a lot of dialogue here that is just straight from the game itself. You will know when you see it.**

* * *

'Wake up, Cousin!' came the familiar voice of Shianni whose breath smelled of alcohol again 'Why are you still in bed? It's your big day'. She said excitedly

Slowly opening her eyes, Kallian Tabris felt so sore from the previous night's training session with Khorieus. For the last two days, a week since they had first met, his sessions for her had become more intense than usual. Rising from her bed, Kallian groaned

'…. Just a little longer…' she said groggily

'Come on! Don't make me use cold water again' her cousin said with a smile as she folded her arms 'You **do** remember what today is don't you?'

'Someone's wedding?' groaned Kallian as the aches in her bones and muscles hit her like a hammer.

'A **double** wedding! You're getting married, and so is Soris!' Shianni said excitedly 'That's what I came to tell you! Your groom, Nelaros… he's here early'

Kallian's eyes opened widely at the information, she had completely forgotten about the wedding! She was so caught up in this business with their strange guest that she actually forgot what will be one of the most important days of her life.

'So that means we do it now?' she said with panic rising 'I'm not ready!'

'Well it's going to happen anyway, so hold your breath and jump in' Shianni said while trying to cheer Kallian up 'There's going to be music, decorations, feasting… weddings are so much fun! You're so lucky!'

Rubbing her eyes with her right index finger and thumb, Kallian replied a bit sarcastically 'Maybe you should be the one getting married.'

Shianni smiled and said mirthfully 'All in good time, Cousin. This is your day, not mine!'

Kallian groaned and began rotating the joint of where her shoulders and arms met. During her previous training sessions, she was told to focus on defense. Trying to block each dagger strike from Khorieus was like blocking the force of a great sword.

'All right, I'll stop tormenting you. Is should go talk to the other bridesmaids and find my dress.' Her cousin said 'Oh and Soris said that he'll be waiting for you outside. So move it!'

Kallian nodded as her cousin left, she saw her father standing not far away with a somewhat sad look on his face. As their eyes met he gave her a weak smile and spoke

'Ah, my little girl. Its…' he said with a pause as he looked down to the floor board then back to her 'it's the last day I'll be able to call you that.' She noted the sadness in his voice when and familiar nostalgia whenever he thought about her mother Adaia. 'Oh I wish your mother could have been here!' finally finished her father.

'Me too, Father.' Kallian said a bit sadly before her thoughts went back to the wedding 'Well, what should I be doing?' Her father then shook away all current thoughts about her mother and he began to speak more normally

'All right, time for you to go find Soris.' He said 'the sooner this wedding starts the less chance you two have to escape.'

'I want to see my betrothed, at least' she said as questions began coursing through her mind. Will he be big and strong, will he be handsome or nice? Will he just be some ugly prick with money?

'You will soon enough' her father said ending the matter 'Oh one last thing before you go, my dear.' He added a bit worriedly 'you're martial training… the swordplay, knives, archery and whatever else your mother or whatever Khorieus trained you in. It's best not to mention it to your betrothed.' Kallian noted that this was the first time she heard her father referred to Khorieus by his first name.

'He'll find out sooner or later' Kallian said with a shrug and a grin

'Later. Definitely later' her father said 'We don't want to seem like troublemakers, after all. Adaia made that mistake'. Kallian was a little surprised to hear her father mention her mother's name; it had been a long time since she last heard it from him.

Kallian nodded and she remembered her mother for what she was. She missed her dearly 'Mother was a clever rogue' she said sadly.

'Yes. That she was' her father said, knowing the feeling was mutual. He then went to the shelf next to him and picked up a set of lovely set of clothes and a pair of leather boots which were patterned with vines.

Presenting the apparel to Kallian, her father then said 'Take this. Your mother would have wanted you to have it. It's the least I can give you, as you start your new life.'

Taking the dress and the boots, she marveled at the expensive clothing which was finely embroidered with silk panels and elegant stitching in gold and silver thread. She smiled to her father and gave him a hug.

'Go on and get dressed then.' He said with a smile as he patter her back 'I still have some things to do, and Soris is no doubt waiting for you'.

'Oh where is Khorieus anyway?' she asked wondering about the warrior as she gently disentangled from her father

'I last saw him heading to Alarith's' her father said.

She noted that the warrior has been buying a lot from there lately, ever since those two nights ago when he came back very late. Did he really get into some sort of trouble that night? Was he planning on leaving soon? The City Watch's search for him had virtually ceased since the guards were now stretched too thin, too much crime was going on in the city that even Kallian herself thought twice about leaving the Alienage.

Moving back to her bunk beds, she had offered Khorieus a spot on the top one, but he had politely declined and preferred to sleep near the hearth. Removing her dress and putting on her wedding dress, she was surprised that the measurements were just perfect for her, she also put on the leather boots and it too felt comfortable and was a perfect fit.

As she dressed up, she heard the footsteps of her father make his way to the front door. She heard the creak of the wooden door open and then closing after a few seconds. When she had finished dressing, she walked back into the main dining/living area of her house and she was surprised to see Khorieus sitting by the dining table. The warrior was dressed in his robes of white and red and was once more studying the map and she noted his pack was placed by his seat.

So he was leaving she thought sadly. She had yet to hear more about his homeland or even more about himself, but if what he said was true that he needed to go back, she supposed she should not do anything to stop him. In a strange way she had become very fond of the strange foreigner who had quite accidentally bumped into her life. The warrior then looked to Kallian and he gave her a look which surprised her, it was a smile, a genuine warm smile as he stood up.

'I hear you are getting married' he said with an uncharacteristically warm tone, one which reminded Kallian of her father when he was proud. 'You have my congratulations and prayers that your marriage is fortuitous'

Kallian was a surprised at how much the warrior had improved in being able to speak the common language. First he had barely been able to speak it and now it was almost as if she were talking to another Ferelden. He then went back to the map and for a moment, Kallian wished she never told him about it, she kind of wished that he would stay with them.

'You are leaving, aren't you?' she asked sadly.

'Soon' Khorieus said 'I need to leave soon'

'Why?' she asked a bit desperately 'Do you really have to go? Can't you stay?'

Khorieus stood up to his full height, his shoulders were squared and he gave her a look that was a mix of both pride and sadness.

'I cannot stay' he said with sigh 'I must return home, for I still have my duties, to the _Asur_, to Ulthuan.'

Kallian then looked to warrior with eyes which were almost ready to burst with tears 'Will I ever see you again?' she asked.

'I know not, Kallian' he said. It was the first time she ever heard him use her name, all this time he had been referring to her as child or simply Tabris then more recently, _mornah _which she noted was said with a hint of more affectation. Silenced passed between the two as they looked at each other, the warrior broke contact and looked to his knife which was by his right hip. Khorieus placed his right palm upon it and she wondered what he was going to do.

'I have a gift for you' he said as he drew the blade and placed it by a thick strand of his long hair which was undecorated. With a simple flick of his right wrist as his left hand held the strand, he cut a lock of his hair and he offered it to her.

'In Ulthuan' he said '_Asur_ give lovers or those closest to them a lock of hair. We believe it grants strength and fortune.' taking the lock of silvery white hair in her hands, Kallian felt its soft silkiness.

'_Saroir_' he then said with a smile 'May the flame of your love, last for eternity. May it burn all those who wish to break it'

Kallian wanted to say something, but she was interrupted as the warrior gently wrapped her in his arms and her head was pressed against his abdomen. He began to whisper quietly in his lilting tongue 'Ien_ athai matalan Lecai, maraiya nai Yenlui imai Saroir anah Daroir'_.

She was not sure if it was a prayer or a blessing, there was something about it which touched her deeply, she looked up to him with a smile and she felt his lips pressing against her forehead.

Khorieus then said to her with much pride 'Now go to your wedding _Mornah_, and may Lileath shine her light upon your future.'

* * *

Templar Jacob Darius swung his long sword at the practice dummy; his anger lent him strength with each strike. Already it had been a week since the beginning of his investigation with the Chevalier, and still they did not find him. They had questioned the beggar who delivered the letter to the chapter house and it had ended in a dead-end for Bernard Marquand had not told the beggar anything.

Darius had already written a letter which would be sent to Amaranthine by carrier pigeon. The letter was a notice to the now widowed Moira Marquand whose husband, Bernard had died two nights ago. It was dead-ends upon dead-ends for this investigation, and he was still no sooner to catching the elusive Chevalier than last week. Could he be wrong? Was the Chevalier just a man who was simply in the wrong place and the wrong time while the real killer, the true Maleficar was someone else?

He did not know, for the first time in decades, Templar Jacob Darius doubted his own skills. He knew that now would not be the time to give up. Now would be the time to put his trust in the Maker that justice will be served. He then heard a series of soft footsteps from behind him, he looked back to see the mage girl, Olivia carrying a wooden tray with a clay cup upon it.

'Ser Elena asked me to give this to you sir' she said politely as she offered the tray to him 'it's just a simple mixture of herbs to help you rest, I've been told you have not been sleeping well'.

The mage was right, ever since the beginning of this investigation he has not been resting, he has seen himself in the mirror and he had seen the deep eye-bags which rimmed the under of his eyes.

'Thank you' was all he said as he picked up the cup and began to drink it.

Putting the cup on the tray, he yawned and felt the sleepiness hit him. Sleep, he thought to himself, he needed to sleep and rest on it. Perhaps when he awakened his mind would be cleared, smiling to the mage girl, he thanked her again.

It was a rare thing for Templar Darius to feel anything other than contempt or disgust for a mage, there was something about this girl he liked. She reminded him a bit of his own daughter, when she was her age. His daughter, Katherine, was now all grown up and living in Highever, happily married and according to her last letter was expecting to give birth by next month, making him a grand-father.

Bidding the mage farewell, he slowly made his way to his quarters. He groggily removed his armor and just dropped it in a pile before he fell asleep. For the first time in a week, Templar Jacob Darius was able to sleep without worry.

* * *

After Kallian left, Khorieus sighed and hoped that her wedding would go off without a problem and that she and her husband would be happy. He guessed that he should be leaving Denerim today, his plan of simply walking out of the gate with his cloak concealing him was… problematic at the moment. Due to his regular and almost constant use of its magic, the power of his cloak had significantly weakened and would need time to restore itself. He would have to wait until night to make his escape.

Taking stock of his inventory and making sure he had the map and was well supplied with medicine, food, water and other miscellaneous objects, he became satisfied that everything was in order. From the side of his belt he removed a small leather bag, within it contained a pair of silver framed mirrors depicting birds and deer. He had purchased one for Shianni, for he had grown fond of the maiden, despite her clumsy yet amusing attempts at flirtation. The other was of course for Kallian, unfortunately when he had bought it, he did not know there was to be a wedding. Hopefully her husband would think she owned it previously before they had even met rather than think that she had a secret affair.

As he made one last look through his possessions, he realized that he was already becoming quite low on money. Before he arrived in this world, his travels across the Old World did not exactly leave him wealthy. The result was rather expected for most of the "loot" (as other adventurers had put it) he had acquired were either chaos tainted objects that had to be destroyed, or crude and ugly objects of a barbaric design which were impractical for a human to use.

Sure he had found a few nice things here and there, but not enough for him to afford retiring at a luxurious manse in Lothern. There was also the fact that his entire reason for going to the Old World was to find battle and things to bury his axe into rather than acquire wealth. He supposed he could do some mercenary work while he was on this world, for he had already done so in his own world.

Knowing that night would be far away from now, Khorieus set his cloak in front of the hearth and sat cross-legged on top of it. Placing his axe on his lap, he quietly began a restful meditative trance he had learned from the Swordmasters of Hoeth. He would need to prepare himself both physically and mentally for his departure, he would finally take what he hoped will be his first step towards home.

* * *

Walking past the Vhenadahl tree along with her cousin Soris, Kallian actually felt a mixture excitement and nervousness. Earlier she had met a nice old couple who were friends to her mother and had given her a gift of silver coins which she ended up giving most of it to a friend named Nessa so she would not have to leave. Already she talked to a trio of fellows getting quite drunk, a friend of Soris whose brother had left the city and she even had time to see what was going on with a pair of children playing make-believe heroes and calling themselves Swordmasters and Sea guard, kids these days she thought with amusement.

Ahead of Kallian, she saw her cousin Shianni and two of her other friends who were to going to be her bridesmaids. As Shianni waved at them, Kallian noted a trio of well dressed human men coming from behind them. One of the men a certainly well fed human grabbed Nola, one of the bridesmaids from behind her shoulder.

Nola shouted and pleaded to be released as she struggled from the man's grip, the man let her go and Kallian could see a disgusting look of sadistic amusement on his face.

'It' a party isn't it?' the lead man said 'grab a whore and have a good time' he continued in a sinister tone, he then quietly laughed in an evil sound way. The humans around him smiled as well and in amusement

'Savor the hunt boys' said the lead man who then looked to Shianni and grinned 'Take this little elven wench, here… so young and vulnerable…'

Kallian saw Shianni clench her fists 'Touch me and I'll gut you, you pig!' she shouted threateningly, the lead man was clearly unimpressed. One of her neighbors stepped forward and pleaded with the human to leave them be for the sake of the wedding. The lead man quickly gave the one who stood up a backhanded slap and demanded for silence. Kallian's fists clenched at this, already she felt her anger rise towards these bully boys who were abusing her friends and neighbors.

'I know what you're thinking' came the timid voice of Soris 'but maybe we shouldn't get involved…'

Kallian glanced at Soris and gave him a hard look, she replied in a serious tone which made it clear that she would brook no further argument 'Objection noted. Now get out of my way.'

'Fine' her cousin sighed in resignation 'but let's try to be diplomatic okay?'

The lead human then noticed Kallian and he gave her a leer 'What this?' he said while moving towards them 'Another lovely one come to keep me company?' he asked while doing a bad job at trying to sound charming.

As much as Kallian wanted to kick this man in the genitals, she kept her cool and said 'You need to leave, now'

'Ha! You hear that, Vaughan' shouted one of the other men. The lead human, this Vaughan whose name seemed familiar to Kallian scoffed and gave her and incredulous look.

'Do you have any idea who I am?' he said loudly. The Vaughan was about to say something, but the next thing Kallian saw was Shianni coming from behind and hitting the man over the head with a bottle. The human was quickly knocked out and he fell upon his back, there was a look of surprise on the faces of the other humans.

One of the men stepped forward and shouted 'Are you insane!? This is Vaughan Urien, the Arl of Denerim's son!'

Oh sod was all Kallian could think of, the Arl's son. She looked to Shiann who covered her face, she as well could not quite believe what she just did and she swore to the Maker. Trying to diffuse the dire situation Kallian tried to reason with them

'Take him home.' She said 'If you don't mention this we won't'

Another man stepped forward angered and said 'You've a lot of nerve, knife-ears' she could hear the threat in his voice and had a feeling she knew what came next 'This'll go badly for you'. The two men picked up Vaughan and carried him out.

'I really messed up this time.' Said Shianni in a rather mortified tone

'It'll be all right' Soris said trying to help relieve their cousin 'He won't tell anyone an elven woman took him down.'

'I hope so' Shianni said looking sullenly, she then began to walk away towards her home and she muttered 'I should go get cleaned up'

As Shianni left, Soris asked if everyone else was all right. A pinch faced elf woman Kallian did not know of whom was accompanied by a handsome man answered and simply said that the rest were shaken up and she inquired about them. Soris nervously laughed and tried to joke about the Arl's son drinking too early. Kallian noted the change in Soris voice and she guessed this woman was his bride.

'Uh, this is Valora, my betrothed.' He said nervously

'And this man must be my betrothed' Kallian said as she looked at her groom's chiseled and handsome features.

'A pleasure' he said in a cultured voice 'Soris said much of you… some of it was even positive'

Kallian gave a glaring look at Soris whose profuse sweating had increased. 'Hey I just wanted to give you a sporting chance to run.' He said while nervously laughing afterwards 'I am sure the two of you have a lot to discuss'.

'Well, here we are… are you nervous?' Asked her groom, a bit nervous himself, Kallian had to admit that she herself was nervous, but she found him very attractive and had a good feeling about him. Who knows she thought, perhaps he may be the man she has been waiting for.

'I was until I saw you' Kallian said with a smile as she clasped his hand, she remembered the lock of hair from Khorieus and she remembered that she would have to tie it around the hand of both she and her groom for luck.

Her groom smiled to her and said while holding her hand 'I'll spend every waking moment learning to make you happy'

* * *

Standing upon the stage beside her groom Nelaros, Kallian felt her heart beating loudly under her breast. She had wished her cousin luck, she had heard the speech of the Elder, reminding them of their history and she began to hear the prayers to the Maker from Mother Boann.

'In the name of the Maker, who brought us to this world' the priestess said 'and in whose name we say the Chant of light' Kallian noticed the familiar figure of Vaughan again coming from the side of the Alienage. Her eyes widened and all she could think was, oh sod.

Soris then pointed at the incoming human nobleman. All eyes were upon the man and his gang of thugs.

'Milord?' asked the priestess and doing badly to conceal her surprise 'This is an… unexpected surprise'

The nobleman began to ascend the small stair case and he spoke in an almost jolly tone which unnerved Kallian

'Sorry to interrupt, Mother' as he reached the top of the stairs and onto the platform 'but I'm having a party and we're dreadfully short on female guests.' He said with a laugh

'Milord this is a wedding!' the priestess said a bit outraged

The nobleman laughed and said quite loudly 'If you want to dress up your pets and have tea parties, that's your business.' As he spoke, Kallian saw Valora pulled away by one of Vaughan's thugs. The man then walked up to the priestess and ended 'But don't pretend this is a proper wedding'

Stepping away from the priestess, Vaughan then went back to his men and said 'Now were here for a good time aren't we boys?'

One of his men, the one who had asked if they were insane, laughed and said to the bridesmaids in a mocking tone 'Just a good time with the ladies, that's all'. Another man, the one who made the thinly veiled threat was standing behind Shianni, and laughed.

With an evil smile, Vaughan then said 'Lets, take those two' as he pointed at Kallian's bridesmaids 'the one in the tight dress' he said while looking to Valora. 'And…' he then began looking amongst the crowd 'Where's the bitch that bottled me?'

'Over here Lord Vaughan!' Shouted the man behind Shianni who grabbed her by the arm, Shianni struggled from the man's grip and shouted at them while demanding to be released.

'Oh I'll enjoy taming her.' Vaughan said with a laugh. He then looked to Kallian with that leer again 'And see the pretty bride' he said in a quiet and threatening manner.

Nelaros then looked to her with a determined and brave look; he then said 'Don't worry. I wont let them take you!' Touched that he was willing to risk his own life to save the honor of a woman he barely knew, Kallian's respect for her groom increased greatly.

'I won't let them take Shianni!' interjected Kallian. The nobleman quickly took notice of her and she could see his eyes upon her

'Ah, yes… such a well-formed little thing.' The nobleman said while narrowing his eyes

'You villain!' shouted Nelaros as he looked the nobleman in the eye. The nobleman then glared at the two of them and gave a very threatening look

'That's quite enough' he said with a laugh 'I'm sure we all want to avoid further… unpleasantness

Looking the man in the eye Kallian just said loudly with as much authority as she could 'Take me, but let the others go!'

'That wouldn't be much of a party now, would it' mocked the nobleman 'Oh, were going to have some fun' he said with a laugh. She saw as one of Vaughan's men went up to her with a stupid grin on his face. The last thing Kallian knew before being knocked unconscious was the strong backhanded slap of the man and her face hitting the wooden boards.

* * *

Hearing the front door of the house swiftly opened, Khorieus broke his meditation and opened his eyes.

'Khorieus!' he heard the distressed voice of the one called Soris.

Rising up from his sitting position, the Chracian turned around to see Soris of whom he remembered was also getting married today. Beside Soris was Kallian's father, Cyrion and another elf with short blonde hair, the one he did not know was sporting an angry look. Khorieus swiftly noted the distressed looks upon each of them.

'They've been kidnapped!' exclaimed Soris

'Who?' asked Khorieus and already he was starting to have an uneasy feeling

'Kallian, Shianni, Valora, all the bridesmaids!' Soris said.

Khorieus eyes widened at the news of this 'Who took them!? Where did they go!?' the High Elf commanded.

'A human lord named Vaughan Urien' spoke Cyrion who then pleaded 'please, you have to help my daughter and the others. They are being brought to his estate to the south-west of the Alienage.'

Khorieus fists tightly clenched at the news of this, Lord of Murder! He thought. He did not have time to berate their inability to protect their own. Picking up his cloak and turning his back to them, he swiftly moved towards the bath tub where he kept his armor, he began to swiftly equip the enchanted _Ithilmar_ plates.

'Who is this?' Khorieus heard the voice of the blonde haired one

'A friend' replied the voice of Cyrion. It took Khorieus a minute to hastily put on his armor; he tightened the leather straps and had no time to put his iron cords or decorative hair pieces which he left in his pack. Finally putting on his helmet and donning his cloak, he went beside the hearth to get his quiver, his bow and his axe.

He also went towards the bunk beds where he noted was where Kallian hid her short swords, the ones which she insisted on calling daggers. Picking up a pair of Iron "daggers" he tied them to his belt, he then finally picked up his pack in the event that he will need to leave the city earlier than he had planned.

'Please be swift' pleaded Cyrion 'There are many terrible stories about the arl's son and what he does to women'.

Khorieus did not bother to look at them before leaving the house. Stepping out into the slum, he saw the eyes of several elves soon fall upon him. Throughout the entire week he had mostly spent his time in Kallian's home, each time he had stepped out, he had always used his cloak's magic to conceal himself from most of them. As far as the Chracian was aware, the only ones who knew of his presence were Kallian and her family, the Elder, two children who had seen him the previous day and the red-haired merchant. Moving towards the whispering and distressed crowd, they parted before him.

Ignoring the curious attention of the crowd, he moved towards a platform where he swiftly deduced would be the most likely spot to hold a public event; he knelt down and began examining for foot prints. He found several muddy shoe prints leading down into the ground to which he followed; there were some clear signs of a struggle and someone being dragged. He followed the trail to the southern gate of the Alienage, and he began to wonder what course of action he should take.

With the sun still high, his gleaming armor would be highly noticeable. He could try climbing the buildings and leaping from the rooftops as he had done in the past among the Shadow Warriors. But that would take too much time, and one misstep would be disastrous. He already had a good guess on what kind of person this Vaughan fellow was; for he had centuries of experience fighting against murderous rapists.

In the end, Khorieus decided that for the sake of speed he will take the most direct route. He would not forgive himself if the maidens were violated because he tried to remain out of sight. He will have to leave the city as quickly as he could after the maidens were safe. Tightly gripping his axe and whispering a prayer to Khaine, he vowed that he will not be stopped and anyone who gets in his way, he will send their blood and souls screaming to the Lord of Murder.

* * *

Guardsman William yawned in boredom as he stood on watch by his post. For the last three days nothing much had been happening on his shifts, he supposed he should feel lucky. The men at the Night Watch were always talking about having to stop criminal scum violating the laws in the dead of the night. Still, William at times wished something a bit exciting would happen, he began to feel hungry and he hoped that he will be relieved soon, he had been standing about since sunrise.

Stretching his arms, he really began to feel the weight of his chain mail armor, he removed his helmet and wiped his sweaty brow. When he put it back on, he caught a glimpse of someone running past him, he saw it was tall, broad and pale skinned man in shining armor that looked like…

'Oh sod!' he said to himself. It was that Orlesian Chevalier they and the Templars were looking for! Looking to the Chevalier, he saw the fugitive take a turn by one of the city blocks, quickly weighing his options; he heard how the Chevalier killed a lot of men on the Night Watch, some of whom he knew well as good men.

He was not stupid enough to think that he could take this fugitive on his own though, Running towards the closest City Watch barracks; he would raise the alarm so they will inform the Templars as well and they could use the Mabaris to sniff the Chevalier out.

* * *

Following the tracks to a large fortified estate, Khorieus had to admit that he really did not think this through. The gate was open which was good for him, but he saw at least six men guarding the gates, he also wouldn't be surprised if there were archers on the walls. If he had the luxury of time he would choose to sneak in, but right now he would need haste.

Attacking a fortified structure by the front gate all on your own he bitterly thought to himself, could be worse he supposed it's not like he was trying to break a _sa'an'ishar_ formation. Taking a deep breath, he held his axe in his right and one of the iron daggers in his left. With grim resolve he burst into motion and charged the gate as fast as he could. He called upon the last bit of power from his cloak and he disappeared from mortal sight.

As he rushed forwards with the humans still on guard, he drew back his left hand and threw the dagger at one of the human guards. The blade spun in an arc and it struck a man in his throat, the humans looked to their companion in shock and they did not have time to register that Khorieus was now upon them.

With a swift swipe of his axe he cut a man's left leg off from the thigh and he severed another man's neck before the first two even hit the ground. He sprinted forwards and dodged a sword blow, he heard one of the guards call to alarm and he saw the gates began to close. Leaping forwards through the opening, he rolled onto the stone floor and down two steps before settling upon a brown and yellow carpeted floor.

He felt the sudden impact of a crossbow bolt upon his armored back and the footsteps of a guard charging towards him. Swiftly rising up to his feet, he blocked the guardsman's sword with his left gauntlet, its elegant runes flashed brightly and the High Elf drove the top section of his axe blade up the human's chin and cleaving into the roof of his mouth. Quickly using his left hand, he grabbed the human by the shoulder and shoved the fatally wounded man in front of him; he saw the point of a crossbow bolt burst through the man's throat and spattering the High Elf's face with blood.

Shoving his improvised shield forward and off of his blade, he quickly reached for his hunting knife and hurled it at the crossbowman as he reloaded. The knife struck the guard in his right eye but failed to kill him, he howled in agony as he tried to remove the knife. Dropping his axe and reaching for his bow, Khorieus swiftly pointed his weapon towards the gate where the three remaining human guards were advancing into the building.

With instinct borne of centuries of war, Khorieus swiftly readied an arrow and fired towards one guard who was struck in neck. He then fired another arrow into a second man's heart and then he fired the last one in the belly, he then fired an arrow into the man with the knife in the eye and ending his screams. As the last of the guards fell he stowed away his bow and re-equipping up his axe. He walked towards the still living man he had shot in the belly, the guardsman was now on his knees as he tried to remove the arrow which was likely now causing his intestines to blacken with frostbite.

Grabbing the man by the head, Khorieus forcefully slapped the side of his head on to the flat of the _Ithilmar_ Axe. 'Tell me where the lord of this place is!' he hissed in the common language of this world, he then spoke to his axe and it began to heat up. The human screamed in pain as the super heated metal began to melt the flesh upon his cheek and the smell of cooking pork filled the Chracian's nostrils.

'All right all right! I will tell you!' the man pleaded, Khorieus then pulled the man's head away from the axe he and began to talk

* * *

'Wake up sir!' came the muffled voice another Templar named Wilhelm. Slowly opening his eyes to see a helmeted man, Darius groaned and rose from his bed, while still feeling tired, he certainly felt better for having at least some sleep.

'What is it?' asked Darius groggily

'We've spotted him sir! The Chevalier!' Wilhelm said, Darius eyes opened widely at the mention of the elusive fugitive.

'Are you sure!?' Darius asked with disbelief

'Positive sir!' nodded Wilhelm who handed Darius his helmet 'Three Watchmen reported in all sighting the Chevalier, he is heading to the Arl's estate!'

Why would the Chevalier go to the Arl's estate? Thought Jacob Darius, was he after the Arl himself? Or perhaps was the Arl somehow in league with him? Whatever was the case, he knew that this would end today. Putting on his helmet and making sure his armor was secure, he ordered Wilhelm to make ready. The Templar left his quarters and made his way to the chapter house's armory, when the first reports came in of the Chevalier having some sort of enchanted armor; Darius had requisitioned some of the chapter house's more powerful weapons to be available.

Walking through the stone hallways, he made it to the armor where he saw Elena standing in front of it. She too was clad in the armor of the Templar and in her hand she carried a sword wrapped in silken cloth. Elena handed him the sword and the Darius thanked her, he began to reverently unwrap the cloth to reveal a Burgundy long sword made from Dragon Bone.

'Sigismund's Legacy' Darius muttered reverently as he looked upon the blessed sword which was carved with tiny litanies and prayers. As the tales go, Sigismund was a Templar from the Anderfels who fought in the wars against the Qunari. It was said that with this sword he killed more of the horned pagans than any man could, and that champions and generals of their kind were slain by it.

When the war was over, Sigismund had sustained many grave injuries which left him unable to properly serve the Chantry's militant arm. Thus he gave the sword to his second in command, a Fereldan born Templar named Ricard. He remembered also hearing some scandalous rumors from Sigismund's time that the great Templar and his second in command were more than just brother's in arms, but something closer, of course Darius himself believed it was nothing more than just slanderous lies.

Brushing his gauntleted fingers over it, Darius gripped the hilt of the sword, he felt the rush of power as the sword's enchantments imbued his physical strength and if the stories were true, it would be capable of cleaving through the heaviest of armor. The sword gave off a soft cerulean glow, yes he thought. Today would be the day where he would finally bring the Maker's justice to the murderer of Finnick, Marik, Desmond, Russel and Bernard.

Looking to Elena who had already put on her helmet, he saw her dwarf forged sword burn with fire as the runes upon it gave the sword power. Nodding to his old comrade they were ready to avenge the dead and finally deliver justice.

* * *

Roaring a prayer to the bloody handed god, Khorieus decapitated a man whose head flew up and his neck sprayed blood all over those around it. The Chracian was spattered, from helmet to boots in blood, he fought his way past nearly two dozen guardsmen, many of whom wore hastily equipped suits of chainmail armor. He kicked a lunging hound from under its jaw and he buried his axe into its spine. Already the wide hallway was filled with the bloodied corpses of the men and hounds who tried to stop him.

After a week without proper battles, Khorieus felt this slaughter to be cathartic. He ducked under the swing of a great sword and he picked up a severed arm from the wrist, he then rose up and smacked the human over the side of his head with the limb. As the man staggered, Khorieus buried his axe into the right side of the man's ribcage, the Chracian then shouted the command word and it ignited within the man who screamed in agony.

Still armed with the severed arm, Khorieus felt the impact of an arrow striking the back of his helmet. He balefully glared at the human archer who had shot him. The man was terrified and he desperately began going for another arrow; the High Elf had left his knife lodged into a previous opponent's skull and the iron dagger in a hound's chest. Not having time to get his bow, he swiftly dropped the arm and bent down to picked up a severed head, his gauntleted hand held it by the mouth and chin. With a feral roar he threw the severed head at the archer who looked upon the head with horror as it flew towards him, the head struck the man on the chest and he was staggered by it.

Khorieus ripped his burning axe from the chest of the other man who was now dead and he rushed the archer. By the time the archer recovered Khorieus was already upon him, with a mighty overhead chop of his axe he split the man in half from skull to groin. As the archer fell in two, the Chracian surveyed the area and noted with satisfaction that it was now clear. At the end of the hall behind him, there was a hound statue and two doors, one going left and the other going right.

He had seen an armored man come out of the one on the left earlier and he guessed that was where the human lord was. Moving across to the end with the hound statue, he pulled the knife out of the back of a dead man's skull and he held in he left hand. He then entered a room which was decorated with several wooden portraits; ahead of him was the door which probably led to the lord's quarters.

Flicking away the blood from his knife, he sheathed it and placed his left hand upon the door's handle. When he opened the door he found three brightly dressed men armed with swords, one carried a shield as well, all of them were in defensive stances and each looked liked they had been waiting for him. The three humans carried themselves with the well-practiced stances of disciplined fighters.

He quickly spotted in the corner the red-haired maiden Shianni whose face was bruised as she crossed her arms over her bare breasts. The human lord, a well fed looking man armed with two blades demanded to know who Khorieus was while his men readied themselves for an attack. Hatred and Loathing to these men boiled up as it mixed with his rage.

'I am Khorieus Alatanrieth!' he shouted in Eltharin with all of his hatred 'And you will be bettered by death you waste!'

Charging with blinding speed and with his blazing axe trailing behind him, he swept his weapon in a side-way arc and he cut one of the men wielding a sword and dagger from hip to hip. He swiftly backhanded the human lord with his gauntleted left fist and he used it to grab the sword arm of the man with the shield.

With a swift twist of the man's sword arm, he broke the limb and buried is axe under the shield man's right arm pit. His blade cut deeply into the man's chest and he screamed in pain and Khorieus proceeded to let go of his axe. His hand quickly went around the man's head with his left hand under the shield man's chin and his right behind the man's head. With a strong twist he silenced the man with a loud snap of his neck.

He then looked to the lord who spat out a bloody tooth, the man looked to the _Asur_ with a mix of terror and rage and he was about say something before the Chracian delivered a swift thrust of his right boot into the man's chest. The human lord's head cracked against one of the posts of the large bed. Khorieus swiftly went to the man and used his right hand to grab the human by his shirt and the High Elf began to continuously punch the man's face until blood matted his entire left gauntlet. As the man groaned in pain, barely conscious and with his face a bloody ruin, Khorieus let go of the lord and he went to Shianni who looked to him with a mixture of terror and relief.

Kneeling down in front of the maiden who looked up to him with eyes which were ready to burst with tears, Khorieus removed his cloak and he wrapped it around her slender shoulders.

'It's all right _mornah_' he gently said as he tried to calm her 'you're safe now'

'You killed them, didn't you?' she asked fearfully and yet with a tinge of relief 'You killed them all.'

'Not all' Khorieus coldly said who then looked to the lord, his hand reached for his knife and he unsheathed it.

Pulling the knife out, he offered her its hilt and he nodded with a dark look upon his face. All the fear disappeared from Shianni's face, it was replaced by a quiet and cold anger, she nodded in understanding as she took his knife.

* * *

Rising up with the help of Khorieus, Shianni went towards Vaughan Urien. She knelt down in front of the severely beaten man who barely registered her in his pain. Already the human lord's face was bruised and bloodied, several teeth were missing and his eyes had swollen up, it satisfied her to see the bastard so. Shianni placed her lips near the man's ears and she spoke with a very deep level of hate.

'I told you that if you touch me' she said as she plunged the knife into the man's belly bellow the button and she slowly sawed the hunting knife up to his ribs 'I will gut you like a pig'.

She twisted the knife and she slowly sawed the blade through to the man's left side under his heart. When she removed the bloody blade from the man she turned back to see Khorieus who gave her a look of approval, she then returned the knife to the warrior, she had found that it was surprisingly as light as it was beautiful.

'Did they violate you?' asked the warrior with concern as he wiped the blood off of the blade with the white sheets upon the bed. He then turned to her and offered the thick green outer layer of the blanket.

'They only just roughed me up' she sincerely said with a bruised smile as she took the sheets in her hands 'Thanks to you'.

* * *

Blood, there was so much blood thought Soris. He and Nelaros had entered using a servant's entrance a friend who worked at the estate had shown them. When they arrived they found most of the soldiers had left their posts and the servants were fleeing in terror, it must have been Khorieus he thought. The two of them were currently armed with weapons they scavenged from the dead guards.

They were rather shocked to see all the blood and bodies, all whom were armed guards, and many seemed to have been killed in very brutal ways. Nelaros had questioned exactly who Khorieus was; Soris himself could not really give Nelaros a concrete answer. It was not as if he actually even knew for he had only met the strange foreign warrior on a few occasions at the insistence of Kallian of whom had taken a liking to him. Each time he had met the warrior it left his body sore from trying to block and dodge the warrior's attacks.

They earlier passed by a few servants who pointed them to where soldiers went and then they found the trail of bodies which ended at a hall with a mabari statue at the end. As they were about to check if that was where the women were, they saw Khorieus walk out with his axe held at the ready. He was completely matted in blood and behind him was Shianni who was covering herself with a thick green blanket. Calling to his cousin, Soris and Nelaros went up to the two; the warrior looked down to them and nodded before he went ahead.

'What in the Maker's name happened?' asked Soris 'Where is Kallian, Valora and the others?'

'I am fine' Shianni said 'Come on! I know where the others are'.

They quietly made their way over the bodies and back to the kitchen where the body of the cook still laid there after one of the servants stabbed him in the back. Soris couldn't quite believe how they missed this when they went in. Opening the door they heard the repeated prayers of Nola who along with the other women looked to Soris, Nelaros and Shianni with relief. Soris noted Kallian lying down upon the floor; he was alarmed for a moment, but was assured by Valora that she was still passed out.

Soris and Nelaros original plan was to find Kallian and hand her the equipment she had stashed in her house. But when they heard all the shouting and screaming they thought that perhaps she managed to get away already and was fighting towards the Arl. Nelaros then knelt down beside Kallian and was about to pick her up before she groaned and began to awaken.

* * *

'Are you all right?' came the familiar voice of Nelaros. Slowly opening her eyes, Kallian saw her betrothed's handsome face.

'Nelaros?' she asked before noticing Shianni whose face was bruised and Soris as well, she also noted how the two were equipped in bloodied chain armor. 'What's going on?' was all she could say.

'It was Khorieus' Shianni said with a mix of gratitude and reverence 'he killed Vaughan and his men'

'All of them I might add' said Nelaros. Kallian then noted the massive warrior walking through the door way, all eyes turned to him and they all saw the blood which spattered over his armor.

'I guess I owe you again huh?' Kallian said with a weak smile towards the warrior

'You owe me nothing, _mornah_' Khorieus then said, he then looked to Nelaros and he looked back to her with a faint grin and asked 'you still have the hair?'

Kallian then reached into a pocket on the side of her dress, she removed the silky silvery white strand and showed it to him. Khorieus nodded and asked for Soris to bind Nelaros and Kallian's hands together with it. Doing as he was told, Soris tied the hands of Kallian and her betrothed

Khorieus then began to say again in a reverent tone '_Saroir_, May the flame of your love, last for eternity. May it burn all those who wish to break it.'

The group of elves entered the kitchen and quickly made their way to the servant's entrance. Khorieus led them for a few steps until he suddenly stopped and told them in a very authoritative tone to go back to the Alienage. As the warrior dashed into what looked to be a mess hall, they heard the barkings of Mabari in the distance. The barking was followed by a loud roar and then they were replaced by pitiful whines and the sounds of men shouting and dying.

'What's he doing?' asked one of the bridesmaids fearfully

'Buying us time' Kallian said she then looked to Soris 'He can't do this alone! Give me what weapons and armor you found!'

'What are you going to do cousin?' asked Soris worriedly

'Paying my debts' Kallian then said

* * *

'Form up Templars!' commanded Jacob Darius as he stood outside the Arl's Estate. A large group of over twenty men and women, each wearing a full set of steel plate armor and bearing a mix of swords, maces, war axes and shields formed into a phalanx formation with Darius at their head. The mage girl Olivia was also there to provide magical support. Already several watchmen and soldiers from the garrison had entered the Estate.

As one the Templars advanced with their weapons raised. In the courtyard there were two dead bodies of the Arl's men and they could see another two at the doorway. A man who had been missing a leg had managed to crawl away and was carried away by the Watch to seek the attentions of a healer. As they closed in they finally saw their target.

The Chevalier thought Darius with rage and curiosity as well; from the range at which he saw the fugitive he could tell that their target was no true Chevalier. Their target had no heraldry or noticeable decorations or symbols from Orlais, the armor itself was of a strange, elegant design he had never seen before. He saw that the fugitive was matted in gore and in his hands he carried a curved bow of white wood which was decorated with silver filigree.

'In the name of the Prophet Andraste!' shouted Darius 'Stand down and meet justice' the fugitive responded by firing an arrow which struck a man to his left straight into the visor of his helmet. The man fell dead and he saw another arrow fly towards them and it killed Wilhelm who stood beside him to the right.

'Forward!' Darius shouted and the Templars picked up their pace. The Fugitive fired another shot which also struck a Templar in the visor, their foe then quickly ran off into the building's interior. The Templars gave chase through its halls and corridors which were filled with the blood and bodies of the Arl's men as well as the members of the City Watch and the military garrison who arrived ahead of them.

As the Templars gave chase, they were somewhat slowed down by their plate armor and they had to avoid tripping over the bodies, while the one they were after moved swiftly in his own. Raising his shield, Darius barely managed to block an arrow which embedded into his wooden shield and would have struck him in the visor. Whoever their foe was; he was also damn good shot with a bow.

The Fugitive continued to run away and shoot at them with his bow like a Dalish Ranger. Each shot either struck down a Templar or had to be blocked, but none had flown wide.

'Cast Haste on us!' the Templar commanded the mage

'I can't!' replied the girl 'I don't have that spell yet!'

The Templar cursed and realized that they will need to corner their foe. He heard words of power coming from the mage who then caused a pool of grease to appear under their foe, the fugitive nearly slipped but managed to regain his footing.

Maker's Breath! He thought with alarm, if they couldn't find a way to slow him down, that bastard is going to just shoot us all!

* * *

Kallian was surprised that her cousin, Soris had brought the equipment Khorieus had given her a few days ago. When she had finished putting on the studded leather armor and equipping the two enchanted red steel daggers and the crossbow, she commanded her kin and friends to leave. Soris and Nelaros were forced to abandon the weapons and armor they scavenged and put on some normal clothes while Kallian herself had given her wedding dress to Shianni so they could pretend to be fleeing servants.

Her betrothed insisted that he stay and help her or go back with them, but Kallian would have none of it and she managed to persuade him to leave. When they had left, Kallian made sure her crossbow was loaded and she quietly tried to find Khorieus. She heard the sound of several men shouting and the clatter of plate armor as she came to what she guessed was the main entrance to the estate.

She saw the backs of plate armored knight she recognized with surprise were Templars. Why would Templars be after Khorieus she thought? Did he lie about being a mage, but actually was one? No she refused to believe it, there must be some sort of misunderstanding. On the way to the main entrance she saw several bodies of both men and mabari, she never realized just how dangerous Khorieus could be to be able to kill so many.

She passed by the body of a man whose face was horribly burnt and made her feel disgusted for it smelled like roast pork. Trying to move as quietly as possible, she was able to get behind the group of Templars which were chasing Khorieus within a wide hall, she saw that among them there was a dark-skinned, blue robed human girl who looked to be around Kallian's age, a mage she realized with trepidation.

The mage held up her staff and fired a bolt of white fire towards Khorieus, she saw the bolt strike against him but it hardly seemed to affect him. Another Templar fell and Kallian made a quick head count and she guessed that there were at least twelve of the Templars left. Quickly raising her crossbow, she took aim at the mage who was surrounded by shimmering orb of light, holding her breath she closed one eye over the crossbow's sight and she pulled the trigger.

The recoil of the crossbow struck against her right shoulder pad and she saw the bolt fly towards the mage. The bolt struck the mage in the back and to Kallian's surprise, did not fall; the mage then turned to her and began chanting words of power.

'Oh come on!' Kallian hissed as she leapt to the wall to her left and her back slammed painfully against it.

'What are you doing you blasphemer!?' shouted the mage woman 'don't you know you are interfering with Chantry business!?'

'Is that so!?' Kallian shouted back while reloading her crossbow 'I thought this was the queen's ball with cake and all!' she then moved back to the entrance of the doorway and fired again, her shot went wide and she hissed a profanity

'Well the cake was a lie!' the mage woman shouted and she cast something which made Kallian's suddenly feel so very cold and with needles piercing her skin, it felt as if she were submerged into the Drakon River during winter.

She heard the mage begin casting another spell as she tried to reload but she just could not seem to get the mechanism right. As the mage finished casting, Kallian suddenly began to feel weak as if she had not eaten in days, the pain from her muscles which she had felt earlier this morning had come back in full force. Having managed to reload, she tried to lift up her crossbow and through sheer for of will tried to keep her aim steady, but the mere act of lifting her weapon became highly agonizing.

'Surrender and submit to the Maker's Justice!' shouted the Mage.

* * *

As another human fell with the last of his arrows into the visor, Khorieus now counted ten of them remaining. Switching to his axe, he moved into a defensive stance and tried to think of a plan. They were now in the dining room again and the Templars began to spread out trying to flank him. Khorieus quickly weighed his options, trying to bottleneck the Templars would be a poor idea as he was familiar with shield tactics like this and he needed to be able to flank them. He needed to find better ground to fight upon and deny them their advantage in numbers.

He noted at least four of the Templars were armed with enchanted weapons, one had a silver sword which blazed with fire, and another had a burgundy colored sword which glowed with a cerulean light. There was also a one carrying a silver axe which sparked with lightning and another who wielded a red mace which was covered in ice. These he would have to avoid or kill later, he dashed towards his right and a number of the Templars began to close in with a semi-circular formation.

Khorieus charged towards the Templar at the east end of the formation, the Templar thrust his sword forwards. The High Elf spun around it at the last moment as the sword grazed the left side of his armored hip. He roared the command word of his axe and the weapon ignited in white fire as it was swung along with the Chracian, it struck the Templar in the back of his head and the High Elf heard the screech of metal as his blade cut through the steel helmet and into the man's skull.

Quickly kicking the body towards the nearest Templar and freeing his axe, he parried the attack of the one wielding the frozen mace and ran past the long dining table. He saw some of the Templars on the other end of the formation break off and try to go to the north end while the ones closest to him were on the south end. With the area ahead of him clear he ran back towards the hall which led to the main entrance.

Another Templar, the one equipped with the flaming sword managed to get to the north end and smashed Khorieus from the side with his shield. The impact of it knocked the High Elf to the stone wall, and he grunted with pain as he struck it. Swiftly recovering he raised his left armored forearm in time to block a side way slash from the Templar's sword, the blade bit into his armor and he roared in pain as the fires began to super-heat the armor and begin to cook the flesh underneath.

With his right hand still gripping his axe he slammed his burning weapon into the Templar's side and he heard a woman's voice shout from under the helmet. Trying to ignore the pain as best he could, he pulled his axe out as well as his forearm from the burning sword's edge. He did not have time to finish off the Templar for the one with the burgundy colored sword was already upon him.

The Templar brought his sword down in a diagonal swing, Khorieus leapt and rolled forwards to the doorway, his shoulder impacted against the wooden door frame but he recovered quickly enough to make it into the hall. Glancing back he saw the Templars were already in pursuit, ahead of him he saw the mage sitting with her back to the wall and trying to pull out a crossbow bolt lodged into her right shoulder, there was also another bolt in her left hip. At the doorway across the hall, he saw Kallian curled up in a fetal position.

With all thoughts of the Templars evaporating from his mind, he ran towards her. Swiftly crossing the bloody hallway while sheathing his axe and dispelling its fire. He made it to Kallian's body and was relieved that he could still see that she was breathing. Picking up her crossbow and a bolt from her quiver, he swiftly reloaded the crossbow and aimed it at the hall.

One of the Templars spotted the crossbow and ordered for his comrades to raise their shields and they began to advance more cautiously. Not having a clear lethal shot available he shifted his target to the prone mage and he fired. Khorieus quickly set the crossbow down and picked up Kallian's body, he placed her on his left shoulder and retrieved the crossbow with his right. Looking back to hall he saw that the Templars were nearly three steps away, with a muttered curse he ran towards the courtyard of the Estate.

* * *

Roaring loudly and spitting several profanities under his helmet, Darius watched as their target ran out of the Estate with inhuman speed. He swiftly took off his helmet and he threw it to the bloody floor. Never had he seen anyone move so fast despite wearing all that armor, he was furious that he had lost eleven more of his brothers and sisters to that monster, and the mage as well. This would have made the fugitive's death toll a total of seventeen (of those affiliated with the Templar Order) by today, much more if he counted the Arl's men, the Watchmen, mabari and the military garrison.

Maker's Breath, he thought. What were they dealing with here? It was just impossible to think that a single man could kill so many in such a short period of time. He had gotten a look at the fugitive's pale skinned and angular face with almond-shaped icy blue eyes which almost reminded him of an elf. The fugitive couldn't possibly be an elf, he thought, they don't grow that tall or broad. Whatever they were dealing with, it clearly was not human and certainly not a Blood Mage, for their fugitive did not use and spells or magic he recognized.

Growling with his frustration rising even higher, he looked to his comrades and he was glad that Elena still lived but was wounded by the fugitive's axe, he also felt somewhat saddened by the death of the Mage, Olivia. They had found a bolt in the side of her neck and it was quickly obvious that she was dead; he even started to like the mage.

'Should we pursue sir?' Asked one of the Templars named Brant who wielded an axe which sparked with lightning.

'Yes' said Darius with a mix of anger and weariness 'Send word to the Knight-Commander that I request for more men and support from the Circle to assist in the capture of the fugitive.'

'Yes sir!' salute Brant sharply.

'Sir!' shouted the voice of a woman named Margaret 'We found the Arl's son, he's dead along with two other nobles'

Punching the stone wall to his right with a shout, he felt the stone crack and pain shot up his arm as he had likely broken some of his finger bones. With the addition of the Arl's son and the nobles along with all the men and women who died today, he was sure that the death count from this one murderer was more than five dozen from today alone.

They would need to lockdown the city so no one gets in or out, he would need to make sure that wanted posters are set up as well so that mercenaries, bounty hunters and adventurers would join the hunt. He saw that the fugitive carried someone, a thin pale skinned woman, was it that elf thief he heard about? It suddenly dawned on Darius that for all this time there was one place they did not look, the one place no lawman would bother to look for a criminal they thought at first was a man. The Alienage…

* * *

Feeling a comfortingly familiar warm sensation, Kallian's vision cleared as the cold and the weakness caused by the mage began to dissipate, this is just not my day she thought. As her vision cleared she found herself in an abandoned looking slum house no bigger than her own. She saw Khorieus sitting across her with his back to the wall; he had removed his gauntlets and was smearing a red healing poultice upon his left forearm. Khorieus hissed with pain, she saw that his pale skin was burnt as if it had remained in contact with a hot stove for a long time.

'You are supposed to drink it you know' Kallian said while breaking the silence and he looked to her with an angry look.

'Why did you follow me?' he asked with an accusatory tone, she could see the cold anger in his eyes 'I told you to go back to the Alienage!'

'I am not a child you know!' she snapped back 'I can take care of myself! I got that mage didn't I?'

'You put yourself in unnecessary danger' he replied angrily

'I was trying, to help you!' Kallian said furiously

'I did not need your help!' he almost shouted 'You have no idea what I am capable of! The things I have fought against for centuries in my world!' she was about to retort something but she saw him wearily sigh first and he continued in a tired and almost sad tone

'You have a family and a life here' he said 'do not throw away what you have'

Kallian looked down mollified, she still had her father, her cousins and she had a husband now. She too sighed wearily and said 'I owed you… for helping me that night, and twice more now from today'.

Looking back to Khorieus, she saw him imbibe the remaining poultice and he began running his right index and middle fingers over the ones he had smeared over his forearm and placing the herbal concoction upon his tongue.

'I know _mornah_' he said in an apologetic tone 'but you already repaid it by granting me shelter and knowledge of your language.' Not knowing what else to say, silence passed between them. Kallian looked to the grimy window of the slum house, it must have been early afternoon she thought. So much had happened in just one morning, looking back to Khorieus, she saw him putting his gauntlets back on.

'Why were those Templars after you?' she asked 'I thought you were not a mage'

'I am not' Khorieus replied 'On the night we met, I was attacked by four Templars'

'But, why?' she questioned again

'I have no idea' Khorieus said 'In my world there is a group of humans who have a similar occupation.' He then continued with distaste 'There methods are crude and questionable; they are quick to put the innocent to the sword in their search for the guilty.'

'You sound like you know a lot about how Templars work' Kallian noted, she wondered if this was a chance for her to learn more about the strange foreigner.

'I was one once… so to speak' Khorieus said nostalgically before shaking his head and looking back at her 'A long tale though, for now we should focus on a current course of action'

'We can lay low' Kallian suggested 'it won't be the first time I'd have to do it'

'It may not be the best of choices' Khorieus nodded 'those Templars may have seen you, and if they did, they will search for you as well and you will be placing your kin in danger'

'I know how to stay out of sight' she reminded him

'And what if they use hounds or magic to search for you?' Khorieus pointed out, he then grunted and began to speak in a low frustrated tone 'I think the best thing for you now will be to leave the city'

'Leave the City?' Kallian asked incredulously 'What about my father or my husband? I have never even been outside Denerim! Where would I even go?'

'That choice is yours _mornah_' Khorieus said 'I still must go west to the Mage Tower and try to find my way home'

Kallian just did not know what to say when she remembered that he was leaving. She sat there in silence as the enormity of what happened just hit her. She was now in the company of someone who is wanted by Templars, and soon would be from the Arling. And if it was true that the Templar may have seen her then she too might be branded for aiding a wanted criminal. If that happened then the safest place for her would be with someone as deadly as Khorieus.

There was also the possibility that the Templars did not get a good look at her, and that she could simply just lie low and get on with her life. There were so many uncertainties and questions which just frustrated her. Sitting there in silence with who was likely the most dangerous person she had ever met, Kallian just didn't know what to do next.


	4. A Run in Shadows

Within the darkness of a cave amidst the sandy dunes, a crone sat cross-legged as she moved her pieces upon the board. Her opponent was a raven with feathers which constantly shifted shape and color, sometimes it wore the form of a man, sometimes it wore the form a beast, or a mix. Sometimes it was as small as her hands and sometimes was larger than even she. The raven which was for now, just a simple bird moved another piece with its beak and it patiently awaited its turn, the crone moved another piece in the great game they had played.

As the raven which now changed its feathers to a variety of red shades finished its next turn, the crone was ready to move one of her other pieces, she noted that a few were missing; she could have sworn that they were there in her last turn. With a shrug, the crone moved a different piece; it would not be the first time one of her pieces mysteriously disappeared when she played against the raven. It was inconsequential anyway, the loss of those pieces, she still had so many more. Besides, the crone still had many tricks to play, ones which even the raven could not see.

* * *

**ACT II: WILDE JAGD**

* * *

'Sorry elf, but no one is getting in and out of the Alienage' sternly said the garrison sergeant as his arms were crossed.

Behind him were four other men, each one wearing a full set of steel heavy chain armor which bore a single large pauldron, each man wore a pointy steel soldier's helmet with a visor which concealed most of the upper part of the face, and leaving the man's lower jaw and eyes exposed. The soldiers were also accompanied by a pair of Mabari who eyed her warily

'But I need to get home! Where will I stay for the night?' Kallian begged as she tried to sound as pitiful as she could while giving the man big pleading eyes.

She was currently dressed in a light brown dress which had "acquired" after noticing that, said clothes were left hanging out upon a clothing line and left to dry, it was actually a bit too big for her. At the least she would look like any other elf returning from work, she had left her weapons and armor in the care of Khorieus, who still rested at the slum house in the Poor Quarter.

Standing at Alienage's south gate, Kallian as well as a five other elves of whom had been out of the Alienage on their own affairs before the soldiers came and began barring people from entering. She was glad that none of the soldiers seemed to recognize her; it gave her hope that perhaps she could lie low and wait for the search to die down. The other elves around her were complaining or begging to the guards to let them in, their pleas were much like Kallian's and just like hers, it went ignored.

'No one gets in or out!' the garrison sergeant said more loudly with a clear edge of threat, she saw that the man was slowly reaching for his mace and the men around him soon followed while their mabaris began growling loudly.

Kallian was forced to back away and the crowd of elves did so as well, they muttered to each other, several profanities and angry words to the guards.

At first many of the other elves had been relieved to see Kallian, they asked her what happened (away from the ears of the soldiers of course) at the Arl's Estate for it was only this morning that her wedding had been ruined. Kallian of course answered as truthfully as she could, but left out certain details to the other elves, specifically regarding her run in with the Templars and the name of Khorieus. She told them about how she came to with Soris and Nelaros to rescue them, Kallian also told them that it was a stranger who saved them all, and that it was the stranger who had killed the Arl's son.

Kallian herself was relieved to hear from the other elves that her two cousins, husband and friends made it back to the Alienage safely. One of the elves stuck outside with her, a friend of Soris named Taeodor of whom she had spoken to earlier, said that the returning elves told them all that it was thanks to the "Silverite Knight" (as the Alienage elves had quickly begun calling Khorieus for they did not know his name) of whom as far as Kallian was aware, only her family, the Elder and Alarith knew of. The veracity of the stories was quickly supported by the accounts of the elven servants who had been working at the Estate but had fled during Khorieus' assault.

It seemed that stories which were beginning to spread in the Alienage, stories of a mysterious knight in silverite armor and a white fur cloak, the one the City Watch had been begun chasing, was the savior of the bridesmaids and becoming a hero of sorts to the elves of the Alienage. No doubt by tomorrow the stories will involve the "Silverite Knight" shooting lightning bolts from his eyes and being twelve feet tall and various other hyperboles.

With no way into the Alienage for now, Kallian guessed that she should head back to the Slum House. Looking to Taeodor she asked him to please pass the message to her family that she herself was all right, to which of course he agreed to. As Kallian turned away and left, he called to her and asked where she was going, Kallian looked back to him and replied.

'It's not like we are getting in anytime soon' she said with a shrug as she looked to the others 'No point in standing around as well so, I should go' she added before running off to the slum house in the Poor Quarter.

* * *

Khorieus knelt down upon the creaking wooden floor boards of the abandoned house; he was alone inside the structure as Kallian had left on some personal errand. The grimy window provided the only light into the building. His eyes were closed as he whispered a mantra with his axe upon his lap; it was similar to the meditative techniques used by the Swordmasters of Hoeth. Although the burns he had received during the fight at the estate still stung, the medicinal "poultice" he had drunk as well as the power of his amulet which currently worked its magic, had left the burn as nothing but an annoyance. With his eyes closed and his mind cleared, his other senses were soon heightened like that of the blind.

He could hear the faint bustle of life outside the dilapidated structure where he had interrogated a man a few days earlier. He sense of smell heightened as he could smell the rot and stink from the city but also the musty decay of wood and the faint lingering smell of blood from the basement as well as the blood upon his own armor which he did not yet have the proper time to clean. After the battle from earlier this morning at the Estate, he truly needed this moment for now was not the time to charge headlong into the fray, it was a time for silence and shadows.

While Kallian's idea to lay low and hide until the efforts of the local guardsman lessened was a sound one, it would be more difficult for the Chracian to follow. Unlike Kallian who could easily blend in with the crowds with a simple change of clothes, Khorieus himself was more noticeable. The magic upon his Lion Cloak was still depleted and would need more time to recover, without it he would be unable to conceal himself from mortal sight. It seemed that for now, he would need to find a better place to hide and remain unnoticed; it was good that at the least he had stocked up on supplies during the last few days.

He quietly continued his meditation for several minutes, his breath was calm and steady from the exercise. As minutes passed he heard the distant but faint barking of hounds, it was the now familiarly deep sound of the attack breed of hounds the people of this world seemed to favor. His eyes slowly opened, a look of grim determination came upon his face, his gauntleted hands tightened around the shaft of his axe.

He heard the barking come closer to his position and he could hear the jingling of chain armor. Rising up and shouldering his loaded pack which now also contained Kallian's belongings, the High Elf moved away from window and surveyed the house to find a place where he could conceal himself in the shadows. Invoking the name of the Pale Queen, there was none to be found, if these guardsmen looked through the window, then they would most definitely see him. Well, so much for trying to stay hidden, he thought.

Shifting to an aggressive stance, watched the window as for any passing. His breathing remained controlled and steady, he heard the voices of men talking in the common language of this world.

'What is it boy?' came the muffled voice of one man outside, his movements were followed by the jingling of mail links. Khorieus then heard the loud sound of barking from the hound and the beast began scratching at the wooden door.

'Sir!' the man outside shouted 'I think we found him!'

Keeping his silence and now watching the door, he heard the barking, steps and jingling of several more men advance towards the front door, he saw three armored men clad in a different type of chain mail which seemed to be of a heavier variant pass by the window and one man looked inside.

The guardsman caught sight of Khorieus in his blood stained armor and shouted 'It's him sir! We found him!'

As the wooden door which did not have lock quickly swung open, a trio of barking hounds came charging through, and they were followed by several armored men. Already roaring prayer to Khaine, with his axe held low Khorieus knew that surrendering and capture was out of the question, it would only end either in death or glory.

* * *

Standing under the bough of the great tree within the Alienage, Templar Jacob Darius watched with steely eyes and arms crossed as his remaining Templars and the soldiers from the local garrison searched the ghetto for the fugitive in silverite who was now wanted with the murder of the Arl's son added to his black deeds. Frustrated that after more than an hour of searching, they found nothing, the mabaris they brought had sniffed out the scent of the fugitive thanks to some of the strange arrows they had recovered; they followed the scent to a house where an old elf claimed that he knew nothing.

Although Darius could not quite believe the owner, one Cyrion Tabris, they did not find any hard evidence to convict the old elf of aiding a criminal. Even in hard times like this, Darius was not the kind of man to allow his anger to get the better of his judgment; he would not have someone innocent of a crime executed or jailed until he sure of their guilt. He had asked the other elves in the Alienage about the fugitive, many claimed to only have seen him today and he went off without causing an incident.

Either these elves were lying or perhaps the fugitive did have some sort of magic with him. It was possible that even if the fugitive was not a mage, he might have some ensorcelled artifacts which would conceal him from sight or that he could affect the minds of others in a similar manner as how Blood Mages could control people. It was possible, for the Templar had dealt with apostates and demons in the past that could use such powers and it was not much of stretch that such power could be placed into objects.

Leading their search was Elena who seemed to have recovered fairly well thanks to the poultices they had given her. She questioned the elves as well, but somehow they seemed more inclined to talk to her than the rest of the Templars or the garrison. He supposed that he should be glad that she somehow had a way with words when it came to non-humans and that no violence had come during their investigation.

After hearing the testimonies of the elves a clear picture of what happened came into Darius head. It seemed that two weddings were taking place this morning of which was confirmed by a Mother Boann at the local chapel at the Market District. It was interrupted by Lord Vaughan and his fellows; they left and came back later with armed guards to abduct the brides-to-be and the bridesmaids.

Disgust welled up in the Templar, he had heard some vile stories as well about the Arl's son, but he was a Templar, it would only be under his jurisdiction if the Arl's son was hiding the presence of a Maleficar or if he himself had shown any magical abilities. The knowledge of what had happened had visibly angered Elena who said that it was because of people in power like Vaughan, relations between men and elves would often remain fractious.

He did not entirely share Elena's sympathies for the elves who seemed to spawn too many beggars or thieves in the cities or were nothing more than apostate harboring highwaymen in the wilds. Still there were more than a few he had met who were decent enough and not entirely of a bad sort who lived pious and honest lives. He quickly reminded himself that what mattered now anyway was that the death of Arl's son which could not go unpunished, justice was need to be met and the law upheld.

Interestingly they had also encountered the elves who were abducted by the Arl's son within the Alienage. According to their testimonies, they had escaped in the confusion of the fugitive's assault, none of them claimed to have seen anyone working with the fugitive. While Darius did not quite believe their story and wanted to press further questions, he was halted by Elena who felt that they were too traumatized to be reliable witnesses. He felt her sympathy for them might be getting in the way of the investigation.

Darius was curious though as of why this fugitive would attack the Arl's Estate? Was he some sort of elf-blooded vigilante? No that did not seem right, he had seen what resulted from such mixed race relations and found the off-spring to physically be no different from other humans. Was it possible that the fugitive had some prior vendetta with the Arl or his son? Could this have just been a random act of violence?

He had gotten a good look at the fugitive's face earlier and the more he thought about it as he stood within the Alienage, the more he was starting to think the fugitive was an elf. But how was that possible? Could it be that perhaps the fugitive was an elf who was altered with alchemy like the creatures around the Mage Tower in Lake Calenhad? Could it be that this fugitive was some unknown breed of elf they had never encountered? Again, the Templar was flooded with more questions but no answer to who or what they were dealing with.

All the Templar could tell was that they were dealing with someone who was extremely dangerous. He had already requisitioned for more support from the Circle, and the Chantry, soon he hoped that they would be given access to some potent stores of alchemical concoctions and enchanted gear which would greatly aid them in dealing with the fugitive.

* * *

Kallian cautiously walked down the wide muddy streets as she headed back to the slum house. While she did carry a small knife which she concealed next to her right thigh and under her skirt, she would have felt more confident with a proper pair of daggers next to her. She had passed by a few gang members, who made some cat calls to her which she responded with feigned interest and teases of perhaps coming back later. Fortunately the men of that gang just shared a laugh and left her alone, if she had her weapons though, she personally would have proceeded to break their teeth.

Hearing a man's scream in the distance, she stopped and realized it was coming from the direction of the slum house.

'Oh Maker's breath' Kallian muttered with alarm and she picked up her pace.

As she ran towards the house, she soon saw a soldier in heavy chain mail armor like the ones guarding the Alienage entrance, he was running towards her, having dropped his weapon and shield.

'Run! He is a madman!' shouted the soldier with panic in his voice, Kallian stepped aside to her right to let the man pass but suddenly heard the distant clack of a crossbow and soon the man jerked as a crossbow bolt was imbedded between his shoulders.

For a moment the man stood there trying to grasp the bolt, he then fell down on his knees and ceased to move. Looking to the direction of where the bolt came, sure enough she saw Khorieus spattered in fresh gore and breathing heavily; a cold and fierce look was upon his face as his bloody axe was held in his right hand and the crossbow he had given her was in his left. Behind him she saw a trail of blood and four dead men outside the slum house along with two mabari.

'Really!?' Kallian said in disbelief with arms raised up 'I leave you for just a moment and you go out and start killing people already!?'

Khorieus calmly straightened up and squared his shoulder, his icy blue eyes regarded her aloofly. He then replied in a neutral tone

'If it is any consolation _mornah_' he said 'they found me first and I was forced to defend myself'

He then tossed the now unloaded crossbow towards Kallian who easily caught it with both her hands. Grunting in annoyance because they should be trying to lay low, she looked around to see if anyone was watching them, she gestured for him to follow her and they went into an alleyway between two other slum houses, she hoped that no one else was watching. Navigating through a maze of pathways and hoping that they would be able to avoid any patrols or gangs, they quietly made it to another abandoned home which was even more dilapidated than the previous one, it was a place Kallian had used a few times in the past after heists.

The house itself probably used to be a two-story home with a collapsed staircase to the second floor and the ceiling on the first had holes where sunlight came in. It was dark and musty and it quite obviously looked as if the place had been untouched for years. The last time Kallian had used the house was two years ago when she had broken into the home of a noble and stolen a few pieces of jewelry and had stashed it underneath the floorboards. It had taken her a few weeks to let the heat die down and find a fence that was willing to purchase the jewels.

Settling inside the house for now, Khorieus set down his axe by the crumbling wall next to the entrance. He then set down his pack and began rummaging through it. Removing and handing her the neatly folded leather armor he had brought to her a few days earlier, he broke the silence and asked 'How goes your search at the Alienage?'

'They're not letting anyone in or out' Kallian said as she took the armor 'I don't think they know that I was with you' she added. 'Could you turn around please? I am going to change' she asked.

Turning his back towards her, Khorieus then replied 'That is good to hear, I suppose there would be no need for you to leave the city after all then'.

'I guess so' Kallian said as she began removing her stolen dress and began putting on the leather armor. She felt a strange tingle again as she put it on, she was really curious as of where Khorieus had gotten it from, especially due to whatever magic it had. Kallian herself had some experience with using magic items, she had stolen more than a few and had noticed its swift effects once worn or held, often such items fetched a high price from the fences.

After changing into her armor which was light and yet had felt quite sturdy, she went to Khorieus who handed her the two daggers which she attached to her belt. Thanking the warrior, he gave her a hint of a smile and went towards a ruined hearth; he knelt down in front of the hearth and placed his axe upon his lap. She heard him whisper softly in his lilting tongue once more and wondered if he was praying, there was something strangely calming about the words he spoke as she tried to listen to it.

Again, Kallian found herself so full of questions of where Khorieus had come from despite their current situation, what was this Ulthuan like? Was it a land ruled by elves like he? The idea seemed to be preposterous to Kallian that there was any place in the world where elves reigned. She had been skeptical at first at his claim about coming from some other world, but after their time together and seeing just how… different he was, she was not quite sure anymore. Taking a seat by the wall to Khorieus right, she quietly listened to his words and felt that perhaps when he was done; it would be a good time to ask as any other.

* * *

'All of them dead?' asked Jacob Darius a bit angrily as he heard the report from a guardsman named William of whom had been one of the first men to alert the Watch, the garrison and the Templars of the fugitive's assault on the Arl's Estate.

The two were currently upon the bridge leading out of the Alienage and towards the Market; he had been on his way to the local chapel to pick up his regular dosage of Lyrium as Elena had volunteered to lead the investigation in the Alienage, after he got midway through the bridge that the guardsman arrived and delivered the report.

'Yes sir!' saluted the guardsman a bit fearfully 'one of the men looked like he had been able to get away but was shot in the back' said the guardsman.

Darius could see it in the eyes of the guardsmen and several of the fresh garrison soldiers; they were telling stories of how this "Chevalier" (as many of them still believed the fugitive was an Orlesian) had killed so many of their men in such a short time. Morale among the garrison and the watch had plummeted and he would not be surprised of desertions of posts would follow by tonight, it would mean anarchy for the streets.

'Have the area searched then, you are dismissed' Darius said with a formal salute.

The guardsman then left and Darius sighed in frustration, the patrol which had been killed were each a professional soldier, while local street gangs were a possibility, he had doubts about that. Already by his totaled estimates that would make the death count little more than hundred men and women dead over a week. Word was already spreading among the populace about the death of the Arl's son and his killer; panic was rising about Orlesian agents and saboteurs seeking to re-invade Ferelden.

Just perfect he thought, not only did they have a dangerous killer on the loose but soon enough it looked like there will be civil unrest and riots breaking out. He was a bit glad that he himself was not Orlesian, because at the rate things were going, any Orlesian would be the target of angry mobs soon. It was not just angry mobs too; the deaths of so many watchmen and soldiers would mean that many criminal gangs would take advantage of the weakness of the guards. While Darius was a Templar and his duty was towards the Chantry and the rooting out of Apostates, he would be hard pressed as well in trying to keep the peace.

Pinching the bridge of his nose with his gauntleted index finger and thumb, he felt as if a greater weight had just been put upon him. He should not have taken that sleeping elixir this morning he thought, he could have acted sooner and been able to catch this fugitive. He thought of the mage girl, Olivia, he had begun taking a liking to the girl, which was a rare thing for him to feel towards a mage, and then she was dead.

His anger and hate towards the fugitive, this "Chevalier" or whatever people wish to call him was such that he could not even find the words to describe it. Sighing again and keeping his composure, he carried on towards the chapel at the Market, how odd it was that a mere two days earlier; he had been praying there and waiting for Bernard Marquand. There were times he had half-expected to see the man appear out of nowhere and help give them a lead or information. He then remembered the horrid state he had found his old comrade the following morning; he remembered the faces and names of all his brothers and sisters he had lost.

Although he had sworn many times over to bring this murderer to justice, he could not help but quietly renew his vow.

* * *

'Do you think maybe you can tell me now?' Kallian asked as silence filled the abandoned home 'about your homeland?'

'What would you like to know _mornah_?' Khorieus replied coolly with his eyes still closed, he seemed so serene and peaceful now, despite all the blood on him.

Where to begin? Kallian thought. With a shrug she started 'I guess, what is Ulthuan like?' The warrior's eyes slowly opened he fixed her a warm fatherly expression.

'My homeland of Ulthuan lies upon the Great Ocean, between the Old World and the New' he said with a faint hint of nostalgia.

'Old World and New World?' Kallian asked with confusion, what did he mean by between The Old World and the New? Was it some sort of place in the Fade? Voicing her further curiosity, the warrior responded

'It is not a place between the metaphysical if that is what you are asking' Khorieus clarified 'it is a place between two physical continents. To the east of Ulthuan lies _Elthin Arvan_ or the Old World where men, dwarfs and the wayward kin of my people vie for dominance against the savage races. To the west of Ulthuan lies the New world, of Lustria, home to the servants of the Old ones… and Naggaroth.'

Kallian noted the hateful and disquieting tone in his voice as his expression grew more aloof when he mentioned this Naggaroth, its name seemed to send a chill down Kallian's spine, she wondered if it had something to do with the place he had mentioned before called Nagarthye, the Shadowlands.

'What is Naggaroth?' Kallian asked, Khorieus gave her a cold look. His expression was now that of a quite anger, it seemed like something he did not wish to discuss. A tense moment of silence passed and he replied.

'A dark land of cold and cruelty' he said in a foreboding manner 'a place ruled by tyranny and torture, a realm where all of your greatest fears are magnified a thousand fold, the nation of the _Druchii_.'

Kallian could now see the distant but intense cold fury in his visage increased, mixed with the blood which still spattered his armor, she found him to be terrifying. She could see that he was now reminiscing about whatever these _Druchii_ are, she was even more curious to know about them.

She had seen Khorieus when he was furious with battle-lust, he had become like a raging inferno, but now she saw a fundamentally deep-seated hatred she had never seen the like of before. What was it that about these _Druchii_ which could drive one to such hate? She wanted to ask more but felt that perhaps she should save it for another day. Quickly deciding to change the topic, she quickly asked

'What else can you tell me about Ulthuan? About your people?' she said.

Khorieus maintained his cold hard look for a moment, she could see it in his eyes that the hatred briefly intensified and his hands tightly gripped his axe's shaft before loosening and with his expression softening. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply the musty air of the abandoned house before exhaling, as he opened his eyes, he looked to her with a neutral expression once more.

'Ulthuan' he said 'is inhabited by my people, the _Asur_, or the High Elves as we called in foreign tongues, for thousands of years we have ruled our island continent' Kallian could see his mood slightly softening and becoming one which was more reverent.

She imagined a land of magnificent castles inhabited by tall elves like Khorieus, clad in shining white robes and armor like the one he had worn; once more she tried to remember what meager legends she knew of ancient Arlathan when her people were supposedly immortal and powerful.

'The lands of Ulthuan' he continued with continued reverence 'are divided into the ten kingdoms, each goverened by the Noble Princes who rule the city states, each Prince, swears fealty to the Phoenix King, the Chosen of Asuryan'

'Which kingdom are you from then?' Kallian asked as more and more questions began to occupy her thoughts.

'I hail from the northern kingdom of Chrace' Khorieus replied 'a land of many mountains and forests where great beasts both natural and monstrous dwell, a land which lives under the constant shadow of war.'

'War against what?' Kallian asked once more, she had a feeling she knew what his answer would be.

'The _Druchii_' he said coldly 'My homeland is the one of the main kingdoms where the _Druchii_ launch their invasions, it is because of them that every _Asur_ from Chrace must spend every moment in preparation for war'.

'Why would you live in such a place then?' Kallian asked, she could not imagine why anyone would want to live somewhere where monsters and war are a constant, she then added 'why not move elsewhere?'

Khorieus then gave her a strange questioning look, his head slightly tilted; she was not sure what he was thinking.

'Because we do what we must, mornah' he said with weariness in his voice. 'It is the burden which all of the_ Asur_ must bear, for without our vigil and protection, our world would perish in blood and fire'

Kallian was not quite sure if she could believe him, how was it possible that one people was all that stood between life and the end of the world? She remembered the tales she had heard of the Grey Wardens, of the battles they fought against the Blights and the Darkspawn. She remembered hearing that it took the combined might of many nations and races to defeat the Darkspawn. Could it be that Khorieus entire race were like the Gray Wardens? Surely it must have been an exaggeration?

As she was about to further question him, Khorieus swiftly brought his gauntleted hand up and hushed for silence. She could see that he was holding on to his axe and it looked like he was listening for something. She tried to strain her hearing as well, her eyes widened as she heard the distant barking of mabari and the clatter and jingling of plate and chain armor, the soldiers and Templar were on the way!

Khorieus swiftly rose up and picked up his pack before moving towards the entrance of the abandoned house. Kallian called to him with a loud whisper and said with alarm 'Where are you going!?'

Khorieus looked to her and replied 'Away from here, it is I that they are after.' He then gave her a solemn look and said 'Farewell Kallian'.

Before she could say anything he darted off outside, she quickly rose up and took a step forwards, was she really going to go and help him? He was not very happy about the last time at the Estate. She stood there for a moment in silence, indecision ate at her, and she bit her lip and knew that she wanted to help him.

His words from only a few hours earlier echoed in her mind "You have a family and a life here, do not throw away what you have".

Clenching her fists, she could not stand idly by and let him do this alone. Despite what he had said, she owed it to him and not just for her, but for Shianni and the other women as well. Had he not been there, they would have been raped and likely murdered by now.

Hearing the barking and clatter get closer, she muttered a profanity and ran out of the house.

* * *

Swiftly passing through the tight alleyways, Khorius was going north towards the river. He actually didn't have a concrete plan right now, he was just trying to get away from his pursuers. He remembered that according to a map of the city the Elder had shown him a few days earlier, there are docks on the eastern part of the city, indeed he had picked up the faint smell of the sea from the east. He also remembered from the map that to the west from the market was the City Gate.

As he ran, he was quickly faced with two choices, either he try to get to the gates which were likely sealed shut or go to the docks and try to steal a boat. While the boat idea seemed like a good one, there was a strong possibility that either he would be unable to find a ship he could use use or that if he escaped upon one, he may end up going off to Morai-Heg knows where. There was also the threat that if he fell, his armor would only drag him down to a watery grave.

The gate idea on the other hand seemed to have more merit; all he would need to do was open it from the inside. Then again it may be the type of gate which used a mechanism which required many people to operate it. He cursed knowing that he just did not have enough information to make a final decision. As he continued to run, he soon found a way out of the labyrinth of the many slums; he emerged into a wide busy street where his presence was quickly noted by several citizens.

Surveying the crowd, he saw a well decorated carriage of black and gold being pulled by a pair of white horses. Making his way to the carriage, he heard someone shout and something about a Chevalier or whatever and soon a number of people converged upon him angrily. Quickly hissing the command word for his axe, the weapon ignited in white fire and was forced to take more than a few warning swings at the crowd. Soon enough many people ran away in a stampede which caused much chaos upon the streets, the driver of the carriage quickly lashed with the reins upon his horses and they started to pick up their pace across the street and going where he believed was west.

Already nearing the carriage, Khorieus leapt forward with a roar, his axe raised high in his right hand. The flaming axe descended upon the roof and it deeply lodged into the carriage, hearing a loud high-pitched shriek from inside, he swiftly climbed to the roof and he saw the driver. An elderly human looked back towards Khorieus with a mix of shock and terror, the man quickly leapt out of the driver seat and landed upon the cobbled road 'Isha's Tears!' shouted Khorieus as he quickly went towards the driver's seat.

Leaving his axe upon the roof and maintaining his balance, he grabbed the reins and began directing the carriage around a bend in time before it collided with a series of wooden stall. Hoping that it would be as easy as driving a Chariot, he began trying to slow down the using the yoke and soon enough they did. Looking around to see if any of his pursuers were near, he quickly got off the driver seat and went to the side of the carriage where his axe was still lodged into the roof.

Placing a foot upon the step on the side and reaching for his weapon with his right hand, he looked inside and saw a corpulent human male clad in a garish outfit cowering at the other end with another garishly dressed man holding out a steel long sword defensively. 'Get out!' roared Khorieus and the swordsman quickly rushed forwards. Swinging to the right side and opening the side door, the swordsman soon fell out of the carriage into the muddy street.

Khorieus then leapt down from the carriage and delivered a swift kick to the swordsman's ribs before he got up, he felt the satisfying crack of bones as the man groaned in pain. He then delivered another kick to the side of the man's head. Not really bothering with finishing the swordsman off, the High Elf looked back to the carriage to see the other man disembark and run away. The Chracian then went back to his axe and he pulled it out, as soon as his axe was free, he quickly went to the front of the carriage with a fire now spreading.

Dispelling his axe's flames he quickly cut the leather harnesses which bound one of the horses to the carriage. As he cut the bindings of the horses, he began to sing an Ellyrian melody he had learned in his time as a Silver Helm Knight and the song quickly calmed both the horses. He then swiftly mounted one of the now freed horses and he was about to kick it into a gallop before suddenly hearing the familiar voice of Kallian shouting his name.

Eyes widened in surprise as his song lapsed he looked over his left shoulder to see Kallian covered in blood and running out of an alley, behind her were a pair of barking painted hounds which were quickly closing in on her. Lord of Murder! he mentally shouted, he quickly directed the white horse towards Kallian.

* * *

**A bit earlier**

Navigating through the narrow alleyways of the Poor Quarter slums, Kallian continuously looked behind her shoulder to see if anyone was following her. She was not quite sure on where to go, but there were probably some flophouses she could go to for the night and lay low. Looking about and trying to listen for more mabari or the clatter of plate armor which rang across the narrow streets. As she took a right, her eyes widened in surprise to see a group of men wearing the leather armored uniforms of the city's official local militia at the other end, one of them pointed at her and shouted

'Oi! That elf's got a weapon!' one of the militia men shouted for it was illegal for any elf to carry one. 'Drop the weapons knife ears!'

'Oh sod!' hissed Kallian and she turned and ran. The shouts of the militiamen were behind and they were quickly in pursuit.

Running in the opposite direction she began taking several twists and turns trying to lose them, but it quickly became obvious that these men knew these streets well because they seemed to know which directions to take to intercept her. There were not too many people about now; most were either still at work or getting ready for work come nightfall.

Taking a left around the corner of an intersection by a tavern, she saw two panting militiamen were in her way. She looked to the north and saw three more militiamen and to the east end she saw a trio of chain mailed men with a pair of painted mabari.

'Oh come on!' Kallian shouted and she ran to the left.

The two men on the left side of the street quickly charged towards Kallian with wood cutter's hatchets in hand. The elf woman quickly ripped out the daggers from her scabbards and held them in a reverse grip. One militiaman got ahead of his comrade and threw his left fist forwards with a gloved hand with several metal studs upon the knuckles. Kallian ducked under the punch and she quickly slashed the man across the belly with her right hand red steel dagger.

The blade which lightly glowed cut through the man's leather armor and into the soft flesh of his belly, blood gushed out from the wound and onto Kallian's right leg and the ground. She quickly raised her left dagger to block the second man's hatchet by the axe blade, she quickly delivered a left knee kick into the man's groin and she switched the grip of her bloody right dagger and plunged the blade across the man's neck and spilling blood all over her. Quickly pulling her dagger out, she quickly darted past the bodies.

As she ran onwards while trying to escape the hounds and the men, she soon came to an open area where a group of men were cheering around something. Hearing the barks of the mabari getting closer she quickly ran into the press off bodies, she shoved and pushed her way forwards and got elbowed in the face for her trouble. Pain shot up through her face and stars appeared in her vision as she forced her way through, she eventually managed to make it to the front where she saw a red-bearded dwarf with an eye patch shouting at something, in front of the dwarf were two weird pink skinned creatures with long rabbit like ears, whiskers and small eyes, they looked like some sort of cross between a rabbit and a pig.

The two creatures looked to be trying to bite each other, but Kallian had no time to wonder what they were. Vaulting over the surprisingly sturdy fence, she heard shouts from the men behind her as the mabari barreled into the crowd. Anarchy erupted as several men tried to get away from the hounds, some tried scaling the fence as well while others fought and brawled as they tried to get clear.

Kallian's feet landed upon the muddy ground of the animal fighting ring, the rabbit…pig…things quickly looked at her but she was already passed them and over the opposite side of the fence with the dwarf shouting profanities at her. She made her way through the crowd on the other side which was already dispersing due to the hounds. Stepping over the head of an unlucky man who had tripped and been trampled by his fellows, Kallian went down another alley while the hounds were forced to go around the fences.

Looking back and thinking she got away, she soon heard the barks of the painted mabari again and she swore once more. Already her legs were painful and demanding rest but she knew that to stop now was a death sentence. Turning her head to see what was in front of her, she saw a wide open street ahead.

Emerging into the later afternoon light, she saw people fleeing to her left and right. She saw a burning carriage painted with black with a golden trim, to her great surprise she saw Khorieus mounting a white horse. Calling to his name, she heard the barking of the hounds and ran towards him. Soon enough, the warrior was galloping towards her, he was leaning to the his right with his axe trailing close to the ground, she saw his lips moving and could hear that he was singing.

Leaping to her left, Kallian rolled upon the filthy ground as she barely dodged the horse, she heard the thunder of hooves and song of the warrior as he raised his axe blade in an upwards arc as he caught one of the painted mabari in the chest. The mabari whined in pain as it flew up with blood gushing out from a lethal wound, the other mabari leapt away from the path of the horse and avoided getting trampled. It lunged forwards with its teeth and snapped at the hind legs of the horse, the horse reacted with surprising swiftness and its hind legs kicked the mabari in the face.

The mabari whined in pain as the iron shod hooves struck its face, it wobbled about in a daze as Khorieus turned the horse around with the now dead other mabari falling off of his axe. Khorieus galloped towards the now dazed mabari and his song reached a crescendo as the axe blade cleaved into the mabari's face. Without stopping, he quickly turned the horse towards her direction; his left hand was soon held out towards Kallian.

As the horse slowed down, Kallian grabbed Khorieus hand; he helped pull her up to the back of the horse. With both legs now on the horse's side and her arms holding on to the warrior's waist with his fur cloak, his bow of white and silver and an empty quiver made from soft leather was near her face. She realized that this was the first time she ever actually got to ride a horse. Looking to Khorieus back and feeling the surprisingly luxurious white pelt upon her finger as she held on to him, she heard him continue to sing something in his language, she tried to ask him something but he ignored her as he focused upon his song.

They were quickly passing over the bridge by the Amaranthine Ocean and over the Drakon River which, she looked to her left and saw the bridge leading to the Alienage. Well so much for staying out of sight she thought.

* * *

Inside the chapel at the Market District again, Darius raised the Lyrium potion to his lips, eagerly gulping down the alchemical fluid; he soon felt its effects coursing through him. He closed his eyes and for a moment he enjoyed the bliss for getting back to work. Mentally reviewing what he had so far from the investigation seemed to mostly be a dead-end again.

The fugitive had proven to be a surprising elusive target, either the elves at the Alienage were either helping him or that they were being charmed through magic. He had tried to see if he could dispel any magical effects upon the elves but had gotten nothing and was inclined on the former. He then sat down by a scribe's lectern and he began writing a series of formal requests for other the Chapters to send what Templars could be spared to replace their losses in Denerim.

He should have joined the men which were searching the labyrinthine slums of the Poor Quarter. But when he had begun to feel that slight tingling of when he needed his Lyrium dose earlier at the Alienage, he had quickly decided to deal with that first. This task was also important; he needed these letters sent because they also contained the description of the fugitive in the event that he escaped. This way the other Chapters at the least would know. As he finished writing the letters, he stamped them with a wax seal of the flaming sword.

Handing the letters to one of the priestesses who would make sure that the message was sent by carrier pigeons, he then made his way out of the chapel. Quietly making his way across the hall, he exited through the double doors and into the late afternoon light. Deciding that he should check up with the investigation at the Alienage, his patience was already running thin and he knew that he should be more "assertive" in his questionings.

As he made it past the gates, he heard the familiar clatter of plate mail and saw one of the other Templars coming towards him. The Templar saluted Darius and he soon realized that it was Brant with his lightning imbued axe, his mind raced with questions as he hoped that they had found the fugitive.

'Anything to report?' Darius asked

'We've spotted them sir!' Brant shouted under his helmet 'The fugitive and his accomplice are on the way to the City Gate!' Darius eyes widened at this, the City Gate was not far off!

'Are the others on the way!?' Darius asked

'Yes sir, Ser Elena is leading them to the gate, come on sir!' Brant said and he ran off towards the Market Gate. Putting his helmet on, Darius quickly went after Brant; he hoped by today, this hunt will end.

* * *

As the white horse galloped closer towards the gate, Khorieus saw the gatehouse with green pennants fluttering in the wind. He gently ended the Ellyrian song and he had the horse slow down. As they stopped near the gate, he quickly dismounted and helped Kallian down, while he was not pleased that somehow she was now stuck with him again, he knew that now was not the time to argue. He saw several human guards at the gate as well as a number of wagons, carriages and people outside the gate.

He guessed that the humans had shut the gates to make sure no one was getting in or out. Hardly caring about how this would affect commerce and travel within the city, what mattered to him right now was getting out. As it seemed that most of the guards were dealing with the complaints of the merchants and travelers, this would give him the element of surprise.

Looking to Kallian, Khorieus had yet to ask her about exactly how she came out of the slums chased by those hounds. He then spoke 'You should leave now Kallian'

With shrug an embarrassed smile she said 'Too late now, I will likely soon be wanted for murder of local lawmen, aiding a known criminal, horse theft, and disturbing the peace.'

Isha's Tears! Khorieus thought as suppressed the urge to plant his face upon the palm of his hand. It seemed that fate has conspired to have her beside him. With a quick survey he saw the entrance to the gatehouse from the right; it was guarded by only two men in the lighter type of chain mail armor and helmets he had seen before.

'You take the one on the left' he quietly said as he handed his knife to Kallian who nodded in affirmation.

Moving towards the side entrance with his axe and bow upon his back. He gently weaved his way passed the carts, animals and people, Khorieus called upon what little remaining power his cloak had; it would likely only last for a minute at most but more likely, even less. As he drew closer to the guardsmen, he saw their heads turn towards Kallian, one of the men said 'Hey where did you get a weapon, elf?'

Before Kallian could say anything, Khorieus hands swiftly wrapped around the head of the man to the right and the High Elf snapped the guardsman's neck. The other man looked in surprised to Khorieus and before he could grab his weapons or shout for an alarm, Kallian threw the hunting knife which struck the man in the throat. Their actions quickly drew the stunned attentions of a number people in the crowd, already though, Kallian pulled out the knife and Khorieus pushed opened the door and the two entered the gate house.

* * *

'I suppose you have a plan, right?' Kallian asked as Khorieus lifted a heavy wooden slab upon the hooks by the door. She then handed him his knife back and he took it with a nod.

'Due to circumstances, it seems that making things up as they happen has been my grand strategy for today' he said in a serious tone.

With a quick look around the place, they saw it was a square room and at the other end of their position there was a stairway leading up. Khorieus walked ahead with his knife held in hand, Kallian supposed that in an enclosed space like this, his battle-axe may not be the best of choices.

She heard the poundings and thuds from the door behind them and thought, I guess no going out that way. From the stairs, she heard the footsteps of several men and soon Khorieus picked up his pace. Pulling her daggers out and following him, she saw a trio of armed men in the regular chain mail armor descend the stairs with weapons at the ready. One of the men ordered for his comrades to attack and the closest one thrust his sword towards Khorieus face as the warrior ascended.

The warrior quickly grabbed the lead man's sword arm and he quickly lifted it up before driving his knife up the man's jaw. The man behind the first one swung his mace towards Khorieus from the side, the warrior easily ducked underneath it and pulled out the knife and proceeded to slit the second man's throat. As he second man held his bleeding throat, Khorieus was already upon the third who wielded an axe, the axe man brought his weapon down upon the warrior who caught the weapon by handle, with sharp twist and cry of pain from the third man, Khorieus then stabbed him with a reverse grip in the left eye.

The man died instantly as the warrior pushed the blade deep enough to puncture the guard's brain. He then picked up the dead man's axe and wielded it with his left hand while his knife was in his right. Soon the sounds of descending footsteps from above became more active along with the jingling of chain armor and the voices of men giving orders. Khorieus began to ascend the stairs more swiftly, and she tried to keep up with him.

Soon enough more men descended from the stairs and Khorieus practically began running upwards. Kallian briefly lost sight of Khorieus before she heard a cry of pain and the body of another chain mail armored man began rolling down the stairs with a deep bloody red gash over cutting diagonally over his right eye. Quickly hearing the clash of steel upon steel, she continued to ascend with her heart pounding and adrenaline rushing. She saw another man roll down she barely managed to avoid and another man was slumped by the curving wall as he tried to pull out a war axe which was tightly lodged into his chest which bled heavily.

They soon arrived at the top into a circular room where several men armed with weapons and shields were waiting for them, Khorieus of whom had brought out his battle-axe, roared in his language and the weapon ignited. The warrior quickly crashed into the press of men and soon the elf woman was with him, her enchanted red steel daggers proved surprisingly effective at cutting through the mail links of the guards. Fighting beside Khorieus, she aided him by guarding his flanks as he swung his fiery axe in deadly arcs and dizzying pattern which cleaved opponents and parried weapons.

Blocking the downwards slash of a swordsman with her right dagger and stabbing him the gut with her left. Kallian took a mace strike to her left shoulder and she shrieked in pain as she felt her left arm go numb and the bones broke. Through sheer effort of will, she held on to her left dagger and delivered a kick to the mace wielder's groin, as the man clutched his manhood, Kallian stabbed the man in the back of the neck.

Cutting down the last of the men with two having attempted flee through a door way which led towards the top of the ramparts itself, she could feel the wind blowing from it and she could smell for the first time in her life, the scent of the forest. Khorieus quickly crossed the bloody floor and towards the ramparts, Kallian followed him and she emerged outside to see to her left, Denerim, the city of her birth. To her right she saw the forest which lay outside the city, the section of the wall facing outside had many thick stone blocks with holes in the center, she guessed that it was used for archers to shoot at attackers.

Khorieus was soon looking down from one of the open spaces between the blocks; she hoped that he was not planning to jump. He looked to her and said 'Keep a look out for more', Kallian nodded quite unsure on what he was planning to do, and she sheathed her daggers and brought up her crossbow.

He then turned back to the circular room, she saw him set down his axe by the doorway and he began dragging a headless corpse near the wall. Setting the corpse down, he moved to his axe and he quickly brought it down upon the corpse's chest, she heard the crack of bones as the axe blade broke through the ribcage, he then set his axe down beside him and he plunged his gauntleted hands in the wounds. To her horror and disgust, she saw Khorieus tearing the wound open with his hands, although she had killed people before; she would never have done such defilement.

Feeling bile rise up to her throat, she did her best to keep it in as the warrior soon exposed the ribs and organs of the corpse. He then pulled out a long series of ropey entrails from the dead man, he handed it to her and said with a serious and commanding tone 'Hold this'. Grabbing on to the bloody organs and thinking that she was going to lose the battle with her stomach, she saw Khorieus lift up the corpse and carried it to the outer side of the wall. He then tossed the corpse over the wall and he quickly placed his right hand over Kallian's end of the organ 'You can let go now' he said.

Khorieus moved to the outer wall and with the organ in hand, he looked over the wall and nodded. He then let go of the organ and knelt down, he put down his pack and pulled out a long length of rope. Kallian looked at him incredulously and could not help but blurt out

'Why didn't you use that instead!?' she said as Khorieus soon went to one end of the stone blocks and he asked for Kallian to wait at the other end.

Following the warrior's orders, she obeyed and leaned over the space between the block and the one next to it. Khorieus then tossed her one end of the rope and she deftly caught it, he then went back to her, he took her end of the rope and began tying it around the block. Going back on watch with her question still unanswered, Khorieus soon replied as he worked with the rope.

'It would have been a waste of time to throw down the rope and pull it back up, I needed something else to measure the distance to the ground.' Kallian looked at Khorieus with shock

'You used a sodding dead man as a unit of measurement!?' she asked with disbelief.

As Khorieus finished tying the knots of the rope he then looked to her and nodded. He then went back into the circular room and soon he came back with a fresh quiver of arrows.

'More or less, yes' he said nonchalantly 'Now we descend'

* * *

Panting with exhaustion as they arrived at the gate house, this was one of the times Darius regretted wearing such heavy armor. Sure it was usually excellent protection, but actually sprinting with it was just torture. Trying to catch his breath as he rested his hands on his knees, he looked up to see the crowd of merchants and travelers who were now stuck inside the city due to the lockdown.

Ahead of him, he saw a number of his fellow Templars speaking with some of the civilians. A man was frantically saying something as he pointed to the northern entrance to the gatehouse. Walking towards his fellows he saw them turn around they saluted Darius.

'The fugitive was here sir!' came the voice of one of the Templars named Edmund 'He and an accomplice killed two guardsmen and then they entered the gatehouse!'

'Any word from the men inside?' Darius asked with an uneasy feeling as he knew that the men inside would be dead

'No word sir' Edmund replied. It was all Darius needed to hear. 'I think the south tower is still open sir'

'Good, let's get in there' Darius ordered. Edmund saluted and Darius ordered for the Templars to form up, they pushed their way past the milling crowd which was growing more restless without any guards and only the gates to bar their way.

* * *

Descending from the rope with Kallian above him, Khorieus gently climbed down the city wall. As he looked down, he saw that the rope he had used fell a few feet short, nothing to worry about he supposed. Looking up, he was glad that at the least it looked as if Kallian had done something like this before. As they descended, he took a deep refreshing breath of the forest behind them, all he would need to do now was go west.

Of course there was still the problem of more of these Templars at the Mage Tower, and there was the possibility that the Mages in question would not be as inclined to aid him. It was a problem he would have to deal with later, but right now he needed to get as far away from the city as possible.

'Halt for now' he commanded, looking down towards the muddy ground below him, he climbed down a little more before he let go. After short drop, he grunted as his boots hit the ground, he then looked up and called to Kallian. 'You can let go! I will catch you!' he shouted

He heard Kallian sigh and mutter something, she then let go of the rope and she dropped with her arms raised to the sides. Quickly raising his arms up as Kallian fell, he quickly clapped his hands together and his gauntleted hands caught Kallian by the sides. Her slender body slipped through his hands but was stopped as his palms caught her underneath her armpits. With a grunt from both of them, Kallian's feet dangled a mere few inches from the ground.

He could hear Kallian breathing heavily and she said 'Good catch'. Khorieus then gently put her down, and he nodded towards her. She nodded back and without a word, they quickly ran passed the body of the dead man who Khorieus had used to measure the drop. The Chracian took a deep breath and felt revitalized as he went towards the forest along with Kallian. At the least he thought, he would not be alone.

* * *

'All right, search the ramparts!' commanded Darius as his Templars finally made it to the top.

The Templars were exhausted as they had to climb the stairs in their armor as well, they found the doorway to the north side blocked but the one on the south side at the least was unlocked. The guardsmen who were supposed to be stationed here were likely dead as there was no one to greet them.

'Over there sir!' shouted Templar Margaret as she pointed over the wall and towards the forest.

Quickly going to the edge, he saw the silverite armored fugitive running towards the forest with another person. His fists clenched tightly and his teeth gritted as countless obscene profanities soon burst from his mouth. The Templars around him looked at Darius with shock as he verbally let loose his pent-up frustration.

Again the fugitive had escaped them! Searching for someone in the wilds was a completely different matter than in the city. He would need expert trackers and hunters for they had no phylactery which they could use to track the fugitive. Glaring angrily at the fugitive and his companion as they disappeared into the tree line, he knew that things just got more complicated.

* * *

As night fell across Thedas, Kallian panted heavily as she slumped down with her back to a tree. When her night vision set, she could see Khorieus moving about in the dark as he collected wood. Lifting a water skin the warrior had provided her, she deeply drank the refreshingly cool liquid which went down her parched throat. As sweat coated her flesh from underneath her leather armor, she removed her leather helmet and wiped the moisture from her brow with the back of her right hand.

She could hardly even hear Khorieus moving about in the dark amidst the cacophony of insects, birds and frogs. As she caught her breath she gently rolled around her left shoulder and she hissed as it still hurt a lot. After hearing a clatter of wooden twigs in front of her, she heard Khorieus whisper something and his axe ignited, suddenly seeing the warrior in the white light, she had almost thought him to be some sort of ghost. He then placed the axe upon the pile of sticks, the sticks ignited and he nodded with satisfaction.

'Get some rest _Mornah_' he said 'I will take the first watch' As Kallian was about to reply, she heard the distant howling of wolves in the forest. She had a feeling, that she would not get a lot of sleep this night.


	5. Daroir

Kallian wearily groaned as her ears were assailed by birdsong above, she quickly picked up a delectable smell of cooking meat and her stomach growled in hunger. Slowly opening her eyes to see the canopy of the forest she saw the countless leaves which obscured the sun as only a few shafts of light broke through here and there. Slowly rising up from a bed of leaves with a soft grunt, the white fur cloak of Khorieus had become her blanket the previous night with the head of great beast becoming a pillow of sorts. Stretching her arms, she was felt the light cracks of bone; her left shoulder was no longer painful for it had been healed during their first night thanks to whatever magic was on the warrior's amulet.

She saw Khorieus squatting on the opposite end of the fire pit to her left; in his hands he held a pair of sticks which he was using to gingerly carry four fist sized balls of leaves which were placed upon a flat stone. He slowly placed the four-leaf balls upon another larger and wider leaf which looked to be very thick

he then looked to her and nodded while saying 'It is ready _mornah._'

Shrugging off the white fur cloak, Kallian was still clad in her studded leather armor which was in some serious need of cleaning the next time she would get the chance for it.

Still sitting bed of leaves she greeted him 'A fair morning to you Khorieus'

The warrior slowly rose up with the four-leaf balls upon the larger leaf which was held in his hand. He carefully moved towards her and replied as he offered her the food '_Harathoi-Lecai, mornah_'.

Kallian smiled and wondered what the food was, she studied the leaf ball before picking one up, she gently tightened her grip upon the warm object and she looked to Khorieus unsure of how to begin. She saw him set down the large leaf with the now three balls upon the grassy earth, he then picked up one of the leaf balls with his hands and he bit into it. Kallian shrugged and bit into her leaf ball as well, her teeth cut through the soft leaves and into a tightly packed ball of meat and herbs which released a small bit of steam.

Its aroma was just as divine as the taste, she could tell that it was made from rabbit, yet it was different from what Khorieus had cooked in the last few days. For three days now they had been in the forest, she had no idea exactly where they were, for her knowledge in forestry was dismal, all she could tell was that they were traveling near the Drakon River. Although she had not exactly slept well with the constant sounds of the wildlife around them, at the least the food was good; it was through the warrior that Kallian had her first taste of actual rabbit meat and it was a lot better than the "rabbits of the city" (which was actually rat meat).

'What is this? Kallian asked Khorieus as she swallowed her first bite of the rabbit and leaf ball. Khorieus looked to her with a faint smile and replied with a hint of warmth.

'A common hunter's meal' he said 'In Ulthuan, many hunters learn to make this, although I did alter it with a dash of a Cathayan style'

Kallian tilted her head and wondered if this was another place from his world 'Cathayan?' she asked. Khorieus nodded and explained

'Far to the east of Ulthuan, passed the many nations of men and dwarfs lies the human empire of Cathay' he said. He then continued 'although I have never been there, merchants from Cathay often seek to trade with my people. In the City of Lothern which is the heart of Ulthuan's commerce, humans from all over the world settle in the walled off enclave known as the Foreign Quarters'.

'You mean like an Alienage?' Kallian asked surprised at the idea of humans residing in a segregated community in Lothern.

For the past three days now, she had been asking Khorieus more about Ulthuan and the _Asur_, she had learned about the other kingdoms and what sort of elves lived there. She had learned how Lothern of which was the capital of a kingdom called Eataine was not just a main trading center, but also the seat of power for their current king, one Khorieus had referred to as "Finubar The Seafarer", the Foreign Quarter in Lothern must be over crowded if humans from many different countries were required to live in the same area.

'Not exactly' he replied 'the humans who live there are merchants or in the employment of merchants, all of whom are free to return to their homelands if they wish.' That made sense Kallian thought, she then heard him continue

'Although in recent centuries it has become popular in Lothern and its neighbors to employ human servants, sometimes even slaves.' Again, Kallian was surprised at the mere idea of humans in servitude towards elves. She herself had once tried doing servant work but was soon fired after her employer grabbed her from behind and she reacted by breaking his nose.

'Did you have any human servants?' Kallian asked with curiosity. Khorieus softly grunted and gave a slightly disdainful look; she guessed that it was a practice he did not approve of.

'No, I did not' he replied 'in my time, we Highborn of Ulthuan employed other _Asur _of the… more common class'. Kallian's bit into her rabbit meat again and began to chew as the implication of what Khorieus said was true.

After swallowing her food, Kallian asked with more curiosity than before 'Are you a noble then?'

'I am' he replied 'I am the Lord of the House of Alatanrieth'

'So… should I be referring to you as milord? Or your highness?' she asked with a little bit of sarcasm and good humor.

'That would be unnecessary _mornah_, you may simply refer to me by my name' he replied with a slight smile.

'What does that mean anyway?' Kallian asked '_mornah_?'

'An affectionate term for a skilled child' was Khorieus answer. Kallian snorted at this and responded

'I am past seventeen you know, I was already to be married and fully considered an adult' she said with mild but playful annoyance. She noted Khorieus raising an eyebrow quite curiously, he seemed to be pondering something before, he quickly then continued

'And I have lived for more than six centuries, _mornah_' Khorieus said while still smiling 'As such I believe that by your standards, everyone else is a child compared to me.'

Once more Kallian was surprised, while surely this must have been a jest, were his people immortal like the elves of ancient Arlathan? When she looked at him, she would have guessed that he was perhaps in his early to mid thirties.

Once more, Kallian could not help but feel that while there were a number of superficial similarities between her and Khorieus. It seemed that the more she learned about him the more she learned of just how strange and different he was. There was something which seemed so fundamentally different about this warrior, something which filled the simple rogue from the Alienage of Denerim with a mix of awe and envy. Quickly regaining her composure, she then asked

'You certainly don't look that old' Kallian said jokingly 'Why you look as if you are still rather eligible for marriage'.

Khorieus slight smile quickly disappeared at her words, did she touch upon something sensitive to him she thought with a bit of worry. He then just looked to the fire between, his eyes just stared there and yet, it seemed like he was looking at something else. Silence passed and she was about to speak before Khorieus spoke first.

'I was married… once' he said quietly as he looked into the fire, and yet he was not looking at it at the same time. She could see that his fists were slowly tightening.

'What happened?' Kallian asked, Khorieus remained silent and he did not answer. He just looked into the fire and stared with only silence as his answer.

* * *

Looking at the letter he held in his hands, Templar Jacob Darius was furious about what was written on it. His request for support from the Circle had been denied and his request for more Templars had as well been denied due to the lack of numbers from the other chapters. Many Templars had gone south with the King's army to battle the Darkspawn horde, the supposed Blight as the Gray Wardens claimed. Already the other chapters had their own problems to deal with involving Maleficars and Apostates; it seemed that the only bright side to this was that his request for better gear and alchemical goods had been approved.

While it would be good to have better equipment, he realized that he would need more men if he were to capture the fugitive. He had requested for support from the Watch and the local garrison, but with the further increase in criminal activity as well as the ongoing Orlesian panic, the soldiers and the Watch were just too stretched thin, even if it was to capture the one who had killed the Arl's son.

Slamming his right fist upon the wooden desk within his office in the chapter house, he was just so frustrated that the fugitive got away again. Already, wanted signs were being put up both around the city and on the Chanter's Board. With the lockdown of the city lifted the day after the fugitive left, he already had couriers and carrier pigeons sent out to the other chapters across Ferelden.

On the day the fugitive had left, they did try searching for him and his companion. Unfortunately, none of the current Templars he had were skilled trackers; three of the Templars who had been killed on the day the Arl's son was also killed were their chapter's trackers. A fourth if he counted the late Bernard Marquand, the Templar began to think that their reliance on phylacteries was becoming a crutch of sorts.

He had also tried hiring out mercenaries to help with the hunt, but most had already gone south to join the army gathering at Ostagar or were already employed to join the one of many conflicts at the Bannorn. There were also some who were currently either selling their services to the Watch or according to more than a few reports, were actually taking advantage of the lack of law enforcers as well.

The only mercenaries he had found who were available were those he thought were more suited for roughing up shopkeepers, let alone hunting a dangerous outlaw who had killed more than a hundred armed fighters in a week. With the few Templar he had left available, he would need to outfit them with better gear and supplies, indeed by tomorrow; they would try their luck once more.

* * *

After breaking camp and going on the move again, Kallian struggled once more to follow the pace set by Khorieus. They had not spoken since she asked him about his marriage, did he have a wife who was alive and had left him? Did she die? Did Khorieus have any children? Again, she was filled with more questions about him. As the day went on with little happening, Kallian just kept trudging through the forest.

On the evening of that night when they had made camp again, Khorieus had once more set up a fire, this time by rubbing sticks together and had gone off to hunt for game. Kallian sat in front of the fire with her legs crossed; to her left was her crossbow. In the space between her and the fire was another large leaf; upon it were several wild berries which the warrior had gathered. Exactly how he kept managing to find food in the wilds was just beyond her.

Picking on the berries and eating them one at a time, she found the small round dark blue things to be pleasantly tart. Feeling the cold once more from the night, she wished that she had brought a cloak or a blanket to help keep out the cold.

'Fine night for camping eh?' came a throaty voice to her right which sounded a bit cheery.

Looking to the direction of where the voice came, she slowly began reaching for the loaded crossbow which lay beside her left. From the shadows came a muscular, leather-clad, scar faced, tattooed man with an unkempt beard and hair. She could see the man was giving her a leering grin with blackened teeth and upon his back was an iron maul, clearly this man was a bandit. She had a pretty good idea on what he was thinking as she saw his hungry expression, as his eyes were sizing her up.

'Just out for a hike' Kallian said cautiously as her eyes scanned the area for any more of his fellow.

She spotted two more men, one of whom was behind the first one and pointing a crossbow at her, the third of whom was an archer, was not far away from the second man's right. She could see that the man knew that she spotted the crossbowman and the archer and had suddenly halted her hand before picking up the grip of her own crossbow.

'Must be lonely for a pretty girl like you to be all up in these woods' the man said as he drew closer, she could see that his leather armor was of a rough quality which looked to be in rather poor condition, the man smelled of old sweat and blood.

She had a hard enough time trying not to gag as she could smell his breath from downwind. She had a feeling that this was the part where he and his friends would start playing around before making their intentions clear, and then it is off to raping and killing.

'You see' the man said as he slowly bent down to look her in the eye 'me and some lads noticed you got a fire there and even some tasty fruit, would be nice of you to share some that, the Maker rewards that sort a thing, don't he lads!?' the man said as called back.

A chorus of agreements followed by chortles followed. The lead man then grinned wider and continued 'We brought some goods of our own' he said 'some fine sausages to share with you that just need a nice warm spot, how about it pretty girl?'

'Sorry, I am with someone right now' Kallian said with a shrug and sounding disinterested 'he should be coming back soon now'. She saw the man raise an eyebrow; he then glanced back at his mates who then began scanning the area.

'And what kind of friend you got?' asked the man calmly as he kept his composure.

'The knightly and bloodthirsty kind, a real killer that one, clad in fancy plate armor he is' replied Kallian with a grin, at least she hoped Khorieus was nearby.

'Well me and the lads don't see anyone else, especially no knightly types clanking about' the man said as he looked back to her, it was clear with his tone that he was calling her bluff. At the corner of her eye, she noticed the man with crossbow go down in silence, she then grinned at the leader a bit evilly.

'I think my friend is here, you all should probably go' she said

'What if I tell you I think you're bluffing?' the man said, he seemed confident in thinking that Kallian really was bluffing.

'Well suit yourself then' shrugged Kallian 'from my experience, meetings like this can quickly change in just a snap' she said with a snap of her right fingers at the end of her sentence.

* * *

With a quick twist, Khorieus snapped the neck of the man he had brought down with a sleeper hold. He had seen over five other humans around the camp, picking up his bow which he had set down behind the crossbow wielder, he took aim to an archer on his right and quickly fired an icy arrow before switching targets. He aimed at another human who was hiding behind Kallian's position, as soon as he put the arrow to the bowstring; he heard a cry of pain from the previous man before firing the second arrow. His current target quickly went down as an arrow struck him in the neck.

The sound of the archer's cry quickly made the large man wielding the hammer turn around with shock. Already, the High Elf had an arrow pointed at the fourth man who was southwest of Kallian's position, he then released the arrow which swiftly flew over the fire and it hit the fourth man in the heart. Looking back to Kallian who took advantage of the hammer wielder's shock, she had quickly gotten up and picked up her crossbow and taken aim.

The hammer man looked to Kallian as he reached for his weapon, as soon as his fingers gripped the shaft, he froze in silence like a deer as stared down the loaded crossbow which was now pointing directly at the hammer man's face. Khorieus heard Kallian speak with a mocking tone

'Like I said' she spoke 'things can just change in a snap'. She then pulled the trigger of her crossbow and shot the hammer man in the face.

Stowing his bow upon his back, Khorieus turned away from the camp. He walked for only a short distance before he found the stick he had used to tie two large birds by the neck, he had used the fiber of some local plants to string said birds up. Picking up the stick, he went back towards the camp. There he found Kallian checking the pockets of the hammer man for anything of value, she found a small pouch which jingled with the metallic sound of coins and grinned.

* * *

'So what you get?' Kallian asked as she eyed the two grey feathered birds with white fluffy necks and long plumes. She then went about checking if the other bandits had anything useful on them.

'I am quite not sure what these should be called' Khorieus replied.

He then set the stick with the birds near the fire, he removed his helmet which he set beside to his left, he then knelt down on one knee and began plucking out the feathers from the birds. He worked in silence as he prepared the two birds for consumption, his mind focused upon the task.

'I am sorry about earlier' Kallian said as she stopped over the body of the crossbowman 'I didn't think it may be a touchy subject… about you being married and all'. He stopped his work and he looked at her, he gave her a weary look and sighed

'There is nothing to apologize for _mornah_' he said with quiet resignation 'I have had over two centuries to mourn the passing of my wife and son'. He then quietly went back to work with the birds, Kallian looked away with a twinge of guilt; she had certainly brought up something which was painful for him.

'What happened?' Kallian asked a bit hesitantly and yet the curiosity of burned within her; she went closer to him and sat beside him with her knees to her chest, 'to your family?' she added

'What happens to many of my people' he said with a bit of anger as he tore out the last bit of feathers upon one bird and got started on the next. 'War, the eternal war my people fight leaves none unscathed; like so many others, my wife and son passed from the world of the living during one of the many wars'.

'Why is it that your people keeping fighting?' Kallian asked

She could not imagine what it would be like to spend one's own entire life in preparation for conflict, for even an entire civilization to focus all of its time strength and time in preparation for war with no end. She remembered many stories of hardships when the previous king of Ferelden had fought the rebellion against the Orlesians. 'Could you not try to talk things out with whoever you are fighting with?' she added

'Because what we fight' Khorieus said with a sigh 'are foes that will never stop killing, they will never cease to negotiate; they will never halt their campaigns of destruction until all of the world burns'. He then gave her a sad weary look before he finished plucking the last feathers from the bird 'we do what we must _mornah_, lest the entire world perishes.' His words carried with it, a great sense of weariness.

For a moment, Kallian could no longer see Khorieus as the mighty warrior, what she saw was tired old soul who has been through so much. She could not help but feel sorry for him; she rose up and Khorieus looked up to her as Kallian gently wrapped his head with her arms and rested it upon her chest. She felt the smooth yet deceptively strong iron cords in his long white hair, she looked to see the many diamond-like gems and silver combs, she remembered him mentioning that white was a color of both purity and mourning among the _Asur_.

'I am sorry to hear what happened to you and your family' Kallian said in sympathy.

'It is not I who deserves your pity _mornah_' Khorieus said with a calm solemnity 'they have already passed into the afterlife and are beyond suffering, pity my world for should the _Asur_ fall, Kallian'

'I lost my own mother two years ago' Kallian said with sad empathy as she gently rested his upon her. 'She taught me everything she knew to help me survive' Kallian's thoughts then went back to her mother, she remembered the happier times when she was alive. 'She said that she was going out to do some errands and she never came back'

Kallian remembered how the news of it came to her, she had been playing with her cousins, Soris and Shianni, when she came home she found her father weeping and from him, she learned from her father what had happened and she wept with tears.

'She was killed by human guardsmen, I never got to say goodbye' Kallian added as she felt tears well up in her eyes.

Another moment of silence passed and Khorieus spoke 'My wife and son died because of me' he said 'as was standard procedure in times of war, the women-folk of whom were all trained to fight amongst the Citizen Levy would lead the evacuation of our injured, the children and elderly. I had ordered for the refugees of three entire settlements to make it towards the closest mountain pass Averlorn.'

Kallian remembered Khorieus saying that Averlorn was the true heart of Ulthuan, home to a monarch called the Everqueen of whom was kind of like the Chantry's Divine she guessed but of the _Asur_ goddess Isha. The current one, according to Khorieus was named Alarielle the Radiant. Kallian had learned that the land of Averlorn was tied to the Everqueen whose emotions would mirror that of the land, the land which supposedly was the spiritual and religious heart of the High Elves. Kallian had imagined a land of an eternal spring where there sun was never harsh, the breeze was always pleasant, where the night was never too cold, a lovely place to be sure she thought.

Khorieus then continued 'my wife had argued and demanded that she and the other women-folk stay and fight with the rest of my warriors, their own brothers, fathers and husbands. I argued against it for we had hundreds of injured, elderly and children, our son included. I convinced her to leave and help guard our people, I promised to see her again when the battle was over.' Silence passed once more as Kallian continued to hold him 'As my warriors prepared for battle, a _Druchii_ Lord who rode upon a black dragon flew over our battle lines. He did not bother to stop us but laughed as he flew straight for the refugees my wife had been leading.'

Kallian held him more tightly as she heard the anger in his voice rising 'The _Druchii_ Lord set the entire refugee column ablaze, there was no cover from the dragon's fire as we heard the screams of terror from our families. When we arrived, we found only an elder of whom we were forced to mercy kill. I never said goodbye to my wife and son, my last words to them was the promise them that I would see them again. I know that it was not truly my fault that they had died, but I often wonder what would have happened had I listened to her, would she and my son still be alive? Would the hundreds of other women, children and elderly still be alive?'

For a long moment, she stood there in silence with his head resting upon her chest; her grip had tightened a bit more as she held back the tears which were almost ready to burst as she buried her face into his white hair. With a series deep breaths, she inhaled the exotic smell of spices and herbs upon him, Kallian then held back her tears through sheer force of will. She then let go and took a step back, the two of them looked each other in the eye, and a moment of quiet understanding passed between them for no words were needed.

Khorieus gave her soft smile before pulling out his knife and he began gutting one of the two birds. Kallian smiled towards the warrior and she went back to looting the bodies of the bandits.

* * *

Templar Darius sat in silence upon his bed as he read the letter he had just received from his daughter Katherine in Highever. He smiled with a mix of joy and relief as the letter explained that he now had a grandson; his daughter had given birth earlier than expected but had nevertheless survived to be alive and well. As much as he wanted to go out and ride to Highever, he still had his duty to the Order and the Chantry.

Yawning in sleepiness and feeling a bit thirsty, the Templar decided that he needed a drink, to celebrate as well as to help clear his head. Clad in a simple set of robes, he walked out of his quarters and headed towards the chapterhouse's cellar under the kitchen where casks of wine and ale were kept. His remaining brothers and sisters were either sleeping at this late hour or in prayer to the Maker.

As he passed the entrance of the kitchen, he saw Elena sitting upon a wooden stool by the square-shaped preparation table where the servants would chop the meat and vegetables. In front of her was a single clay cup and a bottle of wine to her right, she gave him an annoyed look with rosy cheeks then back towards her cup. On the day the fugitive escaped, Darius verbally and non-too politely (to put it lightly) made it clear that he believed her misplaced sympathy for the Alienage elves had gotten in the way of their investigation.

While it was in his power to suspend Elena, he had too much respect for his fellow Templar that he chose not to. Walking into the room, he saw her look up to him and she quickly downed another glass. Looking about the room a bit sadly, Darius remembered the faces of men and women they had so quickly lost. He remembered how Finnick and Russel used to often drink here and engage nearly everyone else in the chapter in outrageous games of chance.

He remembered personally seeing to the training of Willhelm, he was proud of the lad who had proven himself well during a hunt against an Antivan Blood Mage. He remembered the names and faces of all the comrades and friends he had lost, there were many times he had even expected them to still be there. Noticing another three stools around the preparation table, he moved towards a cupboard across Elena where several goblets and cups were kept, he took one clay cup and proceeded to seat himself upon the stool across Elena.

Quietly pushing his cup forwards, Elena nodded and poured him a drink. 'Thank you' Darius said and Elena began to pour herself another drink and saying nothing. Darius sipped the wine; he found it to be a bit too strong and sour for his liking but proceeded to drain it anyway.

'This is terrible wine' Darius said while feeling very warm, as he looked at Elena whose hair was now loose as it reached to her shoulders, perhaps in another life he thought if they were not colleagues, he would have liked for their relationship to be more than just professional.

'Then don't drink it' Elena replied with annoyance as she gulped down another cup. Sighing and feeling a small measure of guilt for his outburst, he should not have done that, not in front of the others. He was going to do this anyway, so now was a good time as any other.

'I just wanted to apologize' Darius said as he looked away 'for my outburst at the ramparts'

'You were right to do so' Elena said as she laid the right side of her face upon the table. 'We could have found out where they went, we could have had this whole damn hunt over with, all those men would have lived and streets would not be in such a sodding mess' she said with a mix of regret and guilt.

Elena then rose her head up and she rested her elbows upon the table with her chin now resting upon her clasped hands. 'I suppose you want to know what that was about? At the Alienage.' Darius nodded quietly and she continued 'Well I am sure you already know that I was born and raised in the Bannorn'. Again Darius nodded for this part he knew.

'Right, well my father, Bann Aonghas was a real fighter and a devotee to the Chantry' Elena said

Darius remembered a few years back, hearing how Bann Aonghas had in one year, claimed the territories of twelve other Banns in brutal and bloody conflict before subsequently losing it all again over the following months. 'He already his first son, my brother Gordan as an heir, he was followed by Albrecht who was the spare, then me.'

Elena then took another drink from her cup and continued 'My father was happy to have me and believed it was a sign from the Maker, so he planned to give me to the Chantry to become a Templar, as thanks to the Maker.' Again, these were parts he already knew but was patient for Elena to tell

'So while my father was out fighting his campaigns, my mother died of a wasting sickness a few months after I was born.' Elena then began pouring herself another cup, the stream of wine stopped halfway with the cup and she shook the bottle before shrugging and putting it back down. 'My father didn't have time to get a nanny so he ordered his servants of whom were all elves and had them take care of me'

'So that's why you seem to care so much for them?' Darius asked with curiosity. Elena shook her head and continued.

'Not entirely' Elena said as she began to have that look of reminiscence 'You see, the servants had shown me a side of things I think a lot of us ignore or are blind to'

'And what would that be exactly' asked Darius with a raised eyebrow.

'To see the world from their perspective' Elena replied 'once, they had a great empire, a nation with roads, bridges, cities, and works of art. Then they were enslaved by the Tevinter Imperium and their Maleficar masters…' Darius knew well this part of history; it was under the bondage of the Tevinter Imperium that the Prophet Andraste came to prominence, it was under the Prophet's wisdom and guidance, the Maleficar lords of the Tevinter Imperium were cast down.

'Once they were a prosperous people like the dwarves, but now they are but a shadow of their former selves' Elena said a bit sadly 'you have seen it for yourself in the Alienages and the streets throughout Thedas, the way they are treated and abused, the way most of us think of them as nothing more than pests.' There was something in Elena's tone which made Darius think that perhaps there was more to his fellow Templar's sympathy.

He had seen it before among his comrades, people with deep-seated personal problems they could not seem to deal with on their own. Perhaps her childhood was more troubled than he had thought and that Elena saw a bit of herself in the elves situation? Perhaps, he had to admit that he was a bit surprised for he thought that he already had Elena all figured out.

As Elena began to stagger a bit on her seat, Darius knew that she clearly had enough. Getting off of his stool he then slowly walked towards and said 'Come on, I think you have had enough for tonight'.

Elena slurred something unintelligibly before falling off of her seat, Darius caught her in time and he grunted in annoyance. Lifting Elena up by the shoulder, he helped carry her to the main sleeping quarters. He hoped that by tomorrow she would not be too hung over, for they still had the fugitive to catch. With his requisition form approved he was confident that by dawn, his party of Templars would have what they need to even the playing field.

* * *

'Are you ready to go _mornah_?' Khorieus asked, he saw Kallian lifting up a back pack she had taken from one of the dead bandits.

She had a new quiver of crossbow bolts attached to her belt, just as he had a new quiver of arrows for his bow. While he was not pleased with the idea of using crude, human made arrows, it was honestly better than nothing. Kallian's "daggers" were now sheathed around her side with her crossbow and bolts upon her back.

'Ready to go' Kallian eagerly said for she had been able to sleep well the previous night thanks to some Valerian root Khorieus had found the previous day.

After consulting the map, Khorieus was confident that they were close to the road going southwest of Denerim, if the map's information was accurate; all they would have to do was to keep following the river until they arrive at a settlement called Lothering. Then from there they would go northwest to find the Mage Tower at Lake Calenhad.

Already though, Khorieus was wondering how in Loec's name was he going to get help from the mages. The best case scenario would be that perhaps he could find a mage who was not very loyal to these Templars who seemed to be their jailers. Of course there also was the possibility that he would have to fight he way past several Templars as well as Mages, if that was the case then he was confident that he could force one of the Mages into aiding him. He himself has had a lot of experience in dealing with enemy spell casters on the battlefields of his world.

There was also the strong possibility that the Mages did not have what he sought. It had already entered his mind that there might be a possibility that this world did not have any sort of planes traveling devices. If that was the case then he would be stuck upon this world for the rest of his life. Shaking his head, he did not want to think about that possibility until he could be sure.

Still though, it nagged at him that if he could not find a way home, what would he do? He had no desire of living in a slum; he had little information regarding what else this world had. He supposed he could indefinitely remain being a wandering vagrant, but then what? Shaking his head once more, he hoped to all the _Cadai_ that this world had something which he could use to go home.

Khorieus and Kallian travelled by the road with no other incidents for the next two days. Eventually the number of trees became more sparse and leaving the land more open with many hills. They stopped on the third day to rest by the river and refresh their water supply, Kallian had insisted on stopping as well to get herself cleaned, which he admitted was becoming noticeable but had been too polite to point it out.

As such they did and she had jokingly told him 'Now don't let me catching you peeping while I bathe'

Khorieus had responded with a monotone voice while trying to conceal his amusement 'If I desired such a vulgar thing, you know what magic my cloak is capable of'.

His response had alarmed Kallian who then seemed unsure if she should bathe. He had grinned and gone off to leave her to it, he had used the time to forage for herbs, fruit, tubers, nuts, mushrooms, wild grain or whatever plant-based material seemed edible or medicinal.

As he foraged for things, he began to notice something strange in the air. There was a faint smell, of something foul like a rotted corpse; there was something strange and unnatural about it which uncomfortably reminded him of the Plague God's corruption. Quickly drawing his bow, he followed the scent of the corruption; it couldn't be… could it? He thought as he followed it. No… it was not Chaos but something unnatural and foul as well, like the presence of raw _Dhar_ upon the Winds.

Eventually, the smell became stronger, he was getting closer to the source. As he picked up his pace he soon crested a low hill, as he looked down he could smell the corruption mixed with the coppery smell of blood. He looked down to see several corpses at the base of the hill, carefully moving towards the corpses, the smell of the corruption grew stronger, it was almost as if he had been dumped into a Chaos tainted Plague Pit.

At a closer look, he saw the bodies of hideous creatures. Some were tall, muscular things with sharp teeth, yellowish mottled flesh, and yet there was something odd about them, something which indicated that it must have been once human. The tall muscular things were clad in serviceable suites of barbaric looking armor which seemed to be decently maintained and not ramshackle. Their weapons though were crude, rusty things with cruel, curved designs and spikes, it reminded him of some of the equipment used by the Bestigors.

Aside from the tall muscular things, there were shorter creatures which also had sharp teeth but pointed ears. They almost reminded him of some stunted breed of orc or a goblin which had grown to be almost as burly as a dwarf. These smaller ones seemed to be clad in a variety of leather armors with spikes protruding from it. As he studied the corpse of one of the creatures, he saw that it its right eye was a burnt ruin, from experience he recognized that it was killed by a flaming arrow.

He looked to another corpse and found that it too had been killed by what seemed to be a flaming arrow. As he searched more of the corpses, he saw that all seemed to have been slain by fiery arrows. He studied the ground around the dead creatures and soon a clear image had appeared in his mind.

It seemed that these creatures were on the move, that they were going somewhere west. They were then attacked by something which was shooting at them, it was fast. He then saw the hoof prints of a horse, there must have been a horse archer then. Judging by the tracks though it seemed as if the creatures were attacked by a single horse archer… but for there to be so many dead from a single rider?

Khorieus eyes widened… could it be? He thought with alarm. He followed the hoof prints and he soon found a splash of red blood which trailed off. It seemed that one of the creatures had been able to strike the horse or its rider. Dipping his gauntleted right index and middle fingers upon the blood, he sniffed it and placed it upon the tip of his tongue, it was horse blood. It seemed as if the horse and the rider continued to move in circles until all of the creatures were dead. He then found the set of tracks which led away south from dead creatures.

As he followed the tracks along with the blood trail, he found that it led to a hill with a copse of tress upon it, among the trees, he saw the horse and its rider, both of whom were concealed by shadows. As the realization hit him, he quickly shouted in Eltharin to the rider, he heard a feminine voice call back to him and he swiftly ascended the hill.

From the shadows stepped out a slender, armored matron clad in an ornate breastplate of silver and gold which was stylized with galloping horses, she wore long, robe-like sleeves of white and yellow cloth with golden bracers protecting her forearms. Her legs were clothed in trousers of white silk with another silky white cloth of a coattail sticking from behind the bottom of her breastplate. The matron wore a golden sash around her waist which ended in a pair of long strips, she also wore a pair of fine reddish-brown leather riding boots with small round and highly decorated plates of silvery _Ithilmar_ to protect her knees. Finally among her apparel, could see the matron's helm was stylized like that of a Pegasus with its wings unfurled and the horse head at the top.

The Matron carried in her hands a pale brown wooden bow with a golden filigree which glowed with a faint blue flame. He could see that upon her back, she bore a long-handled spear with thin green vines wrapping around the shaft with a lengthy tear drop shaped blade which softly glowed with a light blue flame as well. He then saw the golden cloak with the rune of Kurnous above the horn of a Unicorn's head. A Reaver Knight of Ellyrion! Khorieus thought with alarm, and one who was known to him.

'Khorieus?' came the confused voice of the matron who removed her winged helmet to reveal a fair-skinned _Asur_ woman of the same age as he, but with golden hair and eyes as blue as the waters of the Inner Sea. The Chracian removed his helmet; he himself could hardly believe his eyes.

'Illenya?' Khorieus said with surprise as he drew closer to the matron. The two _Asur_ were now merely a foot from each other, he could smell the green open plains of Ellyrion upon the matron. Illenya cautiously raised her hands to Khorieus, with her left touching his right shoulder and the back of her bare right hand brushing against his cheek. Khorieus soon followed with the same gesture, and he knew for certain that she was real.

'What are you doing here?' Illenya asked unable to hide her mixture of surprise, confusion and joy.

'I… I would ask you the same' Khorieus said as well he said feeling quite same. The two _Asur_ looked upon one another, as the sun was now held high, a stunned silenced passed for none could believe what each saw.

* * *

Author's Note: If you are wondering about the High Elves keeping human servants and slaves thing, it is in the Warhammer Fantasy Novels by William King, Sword of Caledor and mentioned in Giant Slayer


	6. Children of Ruin

Standing upon the slope of a hill, Khorieus gazed in disbelief at the face of Illenya Naharynath. The Lady of the House of Naharynath, of Tor Elyr, Reaver Commander, Harbinger of Kurnous and one of the closest friends to the Chracian. Illenya's expression mirrored that of Khorieus for it had been nearly century since he had last seen her during Lord Eltharion's campaign into the heart of Naggaroth. They did not part ways in the best of terms when he had last spoken to her. While he had no regrets of what he had done during the campaign, it was very clear that Illenya did not approve of some of the things he did.

Of course, all that had been nearly a century ago and the emotions which ran hot have had much time to cool. Now stuck in this other world, his heart had lifted at the sight of a fellow _Asur_, more so that it was one of whom he was very close to. He knew Illenya well enough that the feeling would be rather mutual in their current situation. Their stunned silence was broken by the Ellyrian who was the first speak as they still held each other in their hands.

'How did you get here?' Illenya asked, with her voice still full of curiosity and awe

'I was hunting a human sorcerer of the Lord of Change' Khorieus said as he recounted the strange events which led him to this world 'The sorcerer had some sort of arcane scroll, he had then cast a spell which sent the both of us into the Aethyr'

Illenya's eyes widened in surprise and she said 'I was cast into the Aethyr as well, did you come upon a library of shifting colors where a Changer of Ways awaited?' the question had alarmed Khorieus and he nodded in confirmation.

'I was' he said and then continued 'and I saw the sorcerer's very soul consumed by the daemon.' Illenya considered his words for a moment and Khorieus asked 'what of you, though? How did you end up being cast into the Aethyr as well?'

'I was investigating a Waystone which was being tampered with by a Hekartian cult' Illenya said, referring to the _Cytharai_ goddess Hekarti, Mistress of Magic and the dark mirror of Hoec, Lord of Wisdom.

'I showed the cultists no mercy' she said dourly, for in the past the _Asur_ had made the grave mistake of believing that cultists could be reformed, Khorieus himself understood for he had personally seen to the purgation of many cultists across Ulthuan.

'And I assume that one of them, a leader perhaps had opened a portal?' Khorieus said as he was sure what came next

'Indeed' Illenya replied 'I have been upon this world for perhaps a week and six days now'. Khorieus was surprised to hear this, for it was roughly the same length of time he had been in this world.

'What had happened to you since then?' Khorieus asked once more with concern for his old comrade

'I was lost and confused at first, and Asfalrhan had been injured with sorcerous fire' Illenya said while referring to her horse. She then continued and recounted her own tale 'I was soon found by two hunters who took me back to their kin. They offered shelter and had used their magic to heal Asfalrhan, I could not believe it at first, but I was found by creatures which looked almost like us, but much smaller compared to _Asur_'

'They just took you in? Were they elves?' Khorieus asked, curious about the seemingly similar situation he had been in and yet he was intrigued as well by the mention of magic.

He quickly then continued 'or at least what passes for elves within this world?'

'There is more to it really, but yes' Illenya said with a bit of surprise 'How did you know they were elves?'

'A long story, I promise to tell you later' Khorieus said 'sufficed to say I am travelling in the company of one these other elves, and I believe I may have found a way to get us home.'

'That is most excellent news!' Illenya exclaimed with relief in her voice, she then looked away for a moment and looked back to Khorieus.

'I need your help then old friend' she said 'six days ago, the hunters who had found me have gone missing. One I have already safely returned but the other remains missing'

'Did these missing hunters have something to do with those dead creatures north of here?' Khorieus asked

'Yes' Illenya said 'From what I have learned they are called Darkspawn and that they spread some sort of… Taint upon world and the living' Khorieus suspicion was confirmed in regards to the corruption he felt earlier from the things.

Illenya then continued 'The one who still remains missing was taken by these creatures, and since then I have been following their tracks as well as the corruption they leave, the group I had slain earlier was a small war band and they did not have the remaining hunter with them, but I know where the others are'

'My axe is yours then' Khorieus said with a promise 'we will find this hunter and return him to safety, and then we shall travel together once more and find our way home'

'You have my deepest gratitude, _Fersai-Hinaan_' Illenya said with a grateful smile as she looked to him

Khorieus smiled back at upon hearing the name which had been given to him by a most unusual of sources. He had not heard it in a very long time; it brought memories back of their time together.

'There is little need to thank for that which I give freely, _Wylanh-Sayehk' _Khorieus said with a smile. 'Is there anything I should know about with this missing hunter before we proceed?' Khorieus asked. Illenya nodded and replied

'According to one of the mages of the hunter's kin, a Keeper as they are called, the Taint spread by these Darkspawn causes agony, madness and mutation' Illenya said with worry.

It seemed that there was now a strong possibility that they would have to mercy-kill this hunter in the event that he was too far gone with corruption. Khorieus could see in the Ellyrian's eyes that she too had already come to the same conclusion as he did, that they may have to put this missing hunter out of his misery.

* * *

Humming a jaunty little tavern song as the cool waters of the Drakon River washed over her naked body. Kallian felt good to finally get all that dirt and grime off of her, as well as her gear. She had honestly been surprised that the bandits who attacked them a few days earlier actually had a pristine and quaint bar of soap on a rope amongst their belongings. Either they had just hit some wealthy merchants or were not the kind to go out bathing often.

Regardless, it felt good just to get cleaned. She wondered where Khorieus went, probably out foraging again or hunting for animals. She was sure, or at least she thought she was that the warrior had been joking in a dry sort of way about the implication of him using that magic cloak of his to watch her. After several minutes of bathing and just enjoying the calm waters, she lazily rose from the shore and went towards their camp.

Kallian then began drying herself with a linen quilt they had found amongst the bandits. She hoped that by the time it dried, she could find somewhere to sell it for the linens seemed to be of a good quality. As she finished drying herself, she went for her pack and picked up the dress she taken nearly a week earlier in Denerim, she did not know why she didn't discard it. In hindsight, if she had just stuck to wearing it and not switched to her armor and weapons, she would not have gotten chased around in the city.

Then again, they were in a dangerous part of town so it seemed liked being equipped with weapons and armor was a good idea at the time. Well too late for regrets now she thought as she began putting on the dress. Her armor was still drying after she had cleaned it with some soap and water; thank the Maker for that, because it was really starting to smell. She had noted that the armor was a bit big for her, thankfully though it just needed a small bit of adjustments here and there among its straps.

If Kallian didn't know any better though, it seemed like it would have been a perfect for the average size of a human man. She was still curious about how Khorieus gotten it, he had vaguely been insistent that he "earned it". For all Kallian knew, the warrior could have just killed some random person and taken it off of the corpse, not that killing people and taking their stuff was problem to her. She herself did it on occasion and was sure a lot of adventurers and mercenaries did the same.

Looking around, Kallian was really starting to wonder where Khorieus was. While there were a few trees spread out, here and there, she mostly just saw hills, grass, dirt and the blue sky above. With a shrug, she lay down by the campfire upon the grassy ground with her crossbow right next to her; she placed her hands behind her head and figured that she could do with a nap for the two of them had been traveling for days on end.

Enjoying the warm sun and the relative calmness of local area, Kallian had to admit that she was starting to get used to travelling about. She always wanted to leave the Denerim and the Alienage and see the world, funny though that she had often suspected she eventually would as an outlaw. She supposed that if she lay low for maybe a few weeks or months, she could easily sneak back into the Alienage; it was not like the guards had the best track record.

As she dozed off into a quiet nap, she soon heard the distant thunder of a horse in full gallop. She quickly opened her eyes, was it the Templars? Were they still chasing both Khorieus and she? Picking up her crossbow, she began pointing the weapon around and trying to find the horse. As she scanned the terrain, she saw something which was moving fast, she tried to get a better look but it appeared as blur in her vision. Not quite sure what it was, she pointed her crossbow at it.

'Kallian cease!' shouted the sudden voice of Khorieus.

Quickly lowering her crossbow, she looked northwest of her position and saw the silvery armored warrior who was not far away in the distance. Looking back to the moving blur, she saw that it began to… change, the image of it began to become clearer and in a few seconds she could clearly see what it was. She saw a magnificent white horse clad in silvery scale armor which reflected the light of the sun. Upon its head was a gilded armored plate, almost like a helmet with a bright ruby upon whatever a horse's equivalent to a person's forehead would be.

Upon the horse, she saw a slender warrior clad in a breastplate of silver and gold, it's design was similar to that of Khorieus' own. She quickly realized that the rider was another _Asur_, another High Elf like Khorieus. The horse slowed its pace and soon came to a stop a mere four feet away from Kallian, at a closer look at the rider, she was surprised to see that it was a fair skinned woman with blue eyes like that of the ocean.

She saw that the _Asur_ woman carried a spear upon her back and a bow in hand, curiously though she noted the bow did not have a string. The _Asur_ woman gave Kallian a curt nod before looking towards Khorieus of whom arrived a few seconds after the horse and its rider stopped. Khorieus nodded towards the woman and looked back to Kallian who quickly asked

'Who is this?' Kallian said to Khorieus as she could not help but look with a measure of awe towards the rider 'Is she another _Asur_ like you? Kallian added.

'Indeed _mornah_' Khorieus nodded and he began to speak with gravitas 'This is Lady Illenya of the House of Naharynath, a Reaver Captain of Tor Elyr, Capital of Ellyrion, of Ulthuan… and also one of my oldest and closest of friends'

'_Andaran atish'an Falon' _said the _Asur_ woman in what seemed to be a greeting, Illenya graciously gave Kallian a respectful bow of her head, surprisingly even her horse bowed its head as well to Kallian.

'uhh… hello…' Kallian said a bit awkwardly, and completely understanding nothing of what the woman said.

She noted Khorieus glancing curiously at the woman when she spoke. Her words were different compared to the language Khorieus often used, the one which he called Eltharin and yet there was a similar sound to it. But there was something oddly familiar about it as well, as if she should know.

The _Asur_ woman tilted her head slightly; she placed her left hand upon her chin for a moment and tried to speak once more.

'Hello… there… friend…' said the _Asur_ woman rather slowly and awkwardly, Kallian could see a measure of disdain upon the _Asur's_ expression as she spoke the words. Khorieus then began speaking to the woman in Eltharin, Kallian heard her name spoke by the warrior and she guessed that he was introducing her.

Khorieus then looked back to Kallian and spoke 'I have agreed to assist Lady Illenya in finding one of your people _mornah_, you may stay here for now and I shall return or you may follow us'.

'One of my people?' Kallian asked with curiosity, was this Illenya traveling with another Alienage dweller? Well whatever the reason, Kallian sure was not planning on missing out on whatever was going on. For all she knew, they might be coming back much later and she did not fancy the idea of being alone in the wilds when night came.

'Yes, another of your people' Khorieus said with a nod

'Well I am not staying here alone until it gets dark, so I will go' Kallian said as she hefted her crossbow in both hands for emphasis.

Khorieus nodded in approval and he said something to the _Asur_ woman who nodded back and she rode off. Kallian then went near the campfire where she had set her armor in a neat pile. She had cleaned her armor earlier with some water and a ragged cloak she had taken from the bandits. Asking for Khorieus to turn away once more, she removed her dress and began putting the set of studded leather armor on.

When she had finished, she gathered her pack and her weapons, she then looked to Khorieus and nodded. The warrior nodded back and he led the way.

* * *

Having taken the lead, Khorieus followed the tracks of Asfalrhan across the plains and hills. By his guess from what he memorized from the map, they should be close to a region called the Bannorn. He had asked the Elder of the Alienage about it before and had learned that it was a region which was constantly riddled with strife. Where human warlords constantly fought and feuded amongst each other, it reminded Khorieus of the Border Princes east of The Empire. Throughout their entire run, he could feel the corruptive Taint from these Darkspawn creatures.

'So who is this woman anyway?' Panted Kallian as she ran and tried to keep up with him.

'A very dear and close friend' Khorieus said as h easilyumaintained his pace 'I have known Lady Illenya for more than five hundred years, we have fought in more than a hundred battles alongside each other and have faced countless foes together'

'Are… are the two of you close?' Kallian asked as she continued to pant and run

'It will be difficult to explain _mornah_, but yes we are very close' Khorieus replied 'She has saved my life on many occasions, just as I have saved hers, we are… a _Senthanos.'_

As the Chracian continued to run and follow the hoof prints of the horse, his mind cycled through what words he had learned of the Thedan common language. He could not find the words to accurately describe the concept of a _Senthanos_ to Kallian.

As the two of them continued to run, they soon found Illenya and Asfalrhan standing sentry upon a hill with gentle slopes; she looked back to them and waved. Cresting the hill with Kallian panting, Khorieus saw in the distance what seemed to be a small human fortress, it had four thick stone walls which was shaped into a square. He could also see four guard towers, and a keep in the center.

Oddly, he saw that the gates were open and several spiked wooden barricades were set up at the front. From the air itself, he could smell the corruption which was stronger. Upon the walls, he could see the mutilated corpses of humans impaled upon long pikes, their bodies left to fester in the wind; at least now they knew what happened to the fortress's previous occupants.

'What is your plan _Wylanh-Sayehk? _Asked Khorieus in Eltharin as he looked up to Illenya who studied the fortress with a critical eye.

They had no idea how many of these Darkspawn creatures lay within, they had no knowledge of its interior, if they had any sorcerers, as well as any possible cavalry capabilities.

'I will draw their attention _Fersai-Hinaan_' came Illenya's reply in Eltharin as well 'Call upon the Grey Wind and conceal yourself from sight, then head towards the main entrance.'

'As you wish, _Wylanh-Sayehk'_ Khorieus said. Illenya looked down to Khorieus and she gave him a slight smile, it would be like old times he thought.

Raising her bow which was carried upon her right hand and bearing no string, Illenya whispered a word of power and blue runes quick appeared upon her weapon. The blue runes glowed brighter and in a moment, her bow was wreathed with blue fire, a string of pure blue flame appeared between the ends of the bow, and in Illenya's left hand, a shaft of fire appeared. Khorieus heard the gasp of surprise from Kallian as the enchantments upon Illenya's bow, _Lecaihain_ The Light that brings Eternal Sleep, had awakened.

With soft command to Asfalrhan, Illenya swiftly galloped towards the east wall of the fortress.

Khorieus then looked to Kallian and said in a commanding tone 'Stay put _mornah_, I will signal you upon the wall when you may enter'

Kallian looked to him, clearly not pleased 'I can fight you know' she said with mild indignation, and yet at the same time he picked up a hint of hesitance at the sight of fortress

'I know you can _mornah_, but please wait for my signal, and then you may join us' Khorieus said before turning his back upon Kallian. Quickly looking towards the fortress, he called upon the now replenished magic of the Grey Wind within his cloak, disappearing from mortal sight once more, he advanced towards the fortress.

* * *

As Asfalrhan whose wounds were now healed carried her closer, Illenya sighted down upon one of the taller Darkspawn creatures on the walls of which she guessed were around fifteen feet in height. It began gibbering to its kin and pointed its bow at her, before it could draw an arrow from its quiver; the Ellyrian Harbinger fired a flaming arrow which flew straight and true into the creature's heart. Feeling the rush of energy from her bow, she felt comforting warmth of another arrow materializing upon her hand. Pulling the bowstring of blue flame, she quickly launched another arrow which struck down another of the Darkspawn.

Her loathing for the creatures had intensified when she thought of what horrors they could be subjecting towards the missing hunter. With a whispered promise to the Bloody Handed God, she swore that if she could not save him, then her vengeance towards these creatures would equal that which began The War in Heaven. Strafing around the fortress as the enchantments upon her armor caused the very image of the Ellyrian and her horse to distort, arrows and crossbow bolts flew wide as she raced around the fortress and fired more of her flaming arrows.

Judging by the current response of these Darkspawn, she guessed that either there was only a small force occupying the fortress, or perhaps there were simply more inside. Leading Asfalrhan to curve behind the fortress, she saw no arrows shooting at her, her noble steed swiftly carried her around the back of the fortress until she saw the western side. She heard a loud and familiar roar like lions of the north, for a quick moment, Illenya remembered the battle for the Finuval plains and the desperate charge both she and Khorieus had been part of.

Illenya remembered how she had led her Ellyrian Reavers and Silver Helms into the flanks of the _Druchii_ army. They rode side by side with the Silver Helms and Lion Chariots of Chrace; she remembered seeing Khorieus leading the Chracian charge, with axe in both hands. He had proudly ridden upon his chariot alongside Laneleis of whom masterfully wielded a bow, and the one driving the chariot was Khorieus' second, Captain Eolanir Sunmane. After the moment had passed and her mind returned to the current battle at hand, she saw a Darkspawn fall off the wall, its body bifurcated as it descended.

'The wall is clear!' shouted Khorieus in Eltharin, she saw him wave his axe towards the hill they had stopped upon earlier.

Illenya quickly noted that the axe was now wreathed in the fire of _Qhaysh_; it seemed someone has been quite busy over the century Illenya thought, for such an enchantment would not be very easy to financially acquire.

Although she could not forget the atrocity that Khorieus had perpetrated, there was simply too much history between she and her old _Senthanos_. A long history of shared experiences and hardships, a history that lasted through the centuries, a history which forged a deep bond between them, one she had hoped remained unchanged through the passing of years. She had come to regret what she said to him before they parted ways.

Illenya had in time, hoped that she could fix things between herself and Khorieus, but he had been so very difficult to find in those years. When this battle was over and the hunter was safe or avenged, she promised that she would finally finish something which she had been meaning to do for nearly a century.

* * *

Watching as Illenya strafed the east side of the fortress while firing burning arrows, Khorieus quietly jogged towards the gate with his axe in both hands. He easily passed by the barricades of sharpened wooden spikes and entered through the open gates.

Inside, the corruption he had sensed was very strong, at the center of the fortress courtyard, he saw what seemed to once have been a fountain, but strange and disgusting fleshy growths were spreading upon and around the fountain. The mutilated and decapitated bodies of human soldiers were nailed to the walls or crude wooden totems across the fortress. If one were to add arcane sigils which would be painful to look upon, he would almost feel like being back on his world.

The main keep ahead of him still seemed to be in good condition, but he could see that its doors were wide open; he noted that it looked as if they were opened from the inside. Going right where several of the stunted orc-looking creatures and their taller kin were climbing the stairs up to the walls, he saw that many of them were armed with bows and crossbows. Waiting for the last of the creatures to ascend, he soon followed one of the short ones, with a silent prayer to Khaine he quickly brought his axe up over his head and he brought it down in a downwards chop.

His axe swiftly split the monster's head and splattered the High Elf with some of its foul blood touching his face and burning upon contact. Hissing with pain, he noticed his amulet began to glow warmly; he guessed that whatever corruption these things carried, it was especially potent within their blood. Mentally offering a word of gratitude towards Isha, he quickly ascended the stairs while ignoring the burn; the enchantments upon his cloak were disrupted by his strike.

One of the taller monsters noticed Khorieus, before it could call to its kin or raise its weapon, the High Elf swung his axe towards its lower legs and he severed the thing from between its knee plate and the spiked armor which protected the side its calves. The Darkspawn roared in pain as it rolled down from the stairs and Khorieus disdainfully ascended over its body. Near the top of the flight of stairs, one of the shorter creatures appeared with a loaded crossbow aimed at him, swiftly lowering his head and concealing his exposed face, he heard the clack of the crossbow unloading.

The bolt struck Khorieus upon his helmet; he felt the impact as the projectile painfully knocked his head back. The runes upon the _ithilmar_ helmet glowed brightly in defiance, he grit his teeth in rage and did not break his pace. With a swift single handed thrust from his right hand, he loosened the grip of his axe and allowed the momentum to carry it forwards, the head of the axe plunged into the creature's face with the blunt tip of the shaft striking the short thing's nose and the top of the axe blade tearing into its throat, the fatally wounded creature was knocked over the ledge behind it and it fell with its blood spattering the walls. He then quickly tightened his grip as the shaft was about to leave his hand and retracted in a single fluid motion.

Now at the top of the ramparts, he quickly saw only a little more than a dozen of the hideous creatures. The ones closest to him quickly switched to swords, axes and maces and began to advance towards the warrior. Roaring the command word of his axe, the weapon ignited and he charged towards the nearest of the Darkspawn.

The ramparts proved to be excellent terrain for Khorieus, there was plenty of space for him to swing his weapon and yet not enough to make it easy for the Darkspawn to attempt to flank him. Focusing on attacking them with wide swings, he cleaved through the chest of two of the taller ones and he thrust his armored right knee into the face of one of the smaller Darkspawn which attempted to flank him. He felt the impact as his knee broke many of the smaller orc-like Darkspawn's teeth; the creature was knocked back by the blow before the High Elf ended its life by impaling it upon the beard of his axe.

Quickly making short work of the rest of the Darkspawn on the walls, he killed the last one by perfectly severing it in half; the momentum of his axe threw both halves of the tall creature off of the wall. Seeing that the wall was clear, he heard the hooves of Asfalrhan and he looked down to see Illenya riding from west side of the fortress. Shouting to the Ellyrian Lady in Eltharin that the wall was now clear upon the wall, he began waving his axe towards the hill where Kallian was.

Looking back to the keep, he saw several more of the Darkspawn emerge from the gates, among them was a large warrior in yellow plates with a horned helmet wielding a scimitar like-sword and shield. The lead one was accompanied by several of the other tall and short ones. Grunting in disdain, he quickly set his axe upon the rail of the wall and he pulled out his bow.

As the large group of Darkspawn dispersed and headed towards Khorieus, he quickly reached for an arrow from his quiver. Placing the arrow to the string and seeing the arcane rime begin to appear over the arrow head, he let loose an arrow and quickly grabbed for another one and fired. Soon one of the yellow armored ones fell with an arrow to the eye, another of its kin fell as well and one of the shorter ones which wielded a bow fell with an arrow to the chest. Placing another arrow to the bowstring, he continued to fire more and more arrows.

* * *

Quickly running down the hill, after seeing Khorieus signal, Kallian sprinted towards the fortress gate. Oh what in the Maker's name am I doing? Kallian thought with disbelief towards herself, attacking a fortress from the front gates with who knows how many soldiers inside? She regretted having said that she would join in with this madness; had she known what they were going to do, she would have stayed back at the camp.

As she advanced towards the fortress, she saw the _Asur_ woman begin to gallop back and forth from the sides of the entrance and continue bolts of fire. Kallian had never seen any display of magic like that before, then again Kallian herself was hardly an expert in the ways of magic her only experience with seeing it were mages who were using their magic to entertain crowds and that one mage who nearly froze her to death.

The _Asur_ woman then dismounted and made her way past the wooden barricades with her spear in both hands. From the walls, Kallian could see several people moving across it and bodies falling. As Kallian drew closer, her heart began to beat faster and louder in her chest, she dearly wanted to run away from this insanity for she could see the bodies impaled upon pikes at the walls. She began to sweat uncontrollably as fear and doubt began course through her thoughts.

She really… really wanted to run now. The one thing which stopped her though was the thought of disapproval from Khorieus, especially after agreeing to join them. Even from a distance, she could see that the fort's current occupants had come out in full force to meet them; she saw a number of them fall and then they dispersed.

She soon began to hear a horrible deep roars and grunting sounds from the walls, she saw another corpse get knocked off the wall and it landed upon one of the spiked wooden barricades, its body lay impaled as its head hanged down with mouth wide open. At first she thought it was a man, but to her horror, she saw that it was some hideous creature with mottled and yellowish skin, its teeth were sharp and she could see that its grey eyes which seemed almost too human like were rolled up. The creature was surely dead for its throat had been torn out and blood cascaded down from it.

What in the Maker's name was that thing!? Kallian thought with horror. She looked about to that more of the bodies which had fallen were not human; each was some sort of nightmarish creature she had never seen before. Moving towards the courtyard with her daggers equipped, Kallian stopped to see what lay before her. For a moment, Kallian was horrified to see the headless and ruined corpses nailed to the walls, blood had matted the stone masonry and pooled underneath.

She saw the strange… pustule-like growths upon the grounds of what was once a fountain, around the fountain she saw the mass of meaty… things which grew as well. For a moment, Kallian could not help but stare at the horrific scene around her. Hearing a loud monstrous roar to her right, Kallian saw a pair of short and burly greenish-skinned creatures with sharp teeth. Each was clad in a sort of leather armor with spikes upon it and each wielded twin daggers, both were swiftly moving towards her. Quickly adopting a defensive stance, Kallian quickly banished the horror she felt and steeled herself for the oncoming monsters.

One of the short things thrust its daggers forwards and while its kin attempted to flank Kallian's left. Leaping back and barely avoiding impalement, she thrust her dagger towards the monster to her left in a reverse grip, her dagger was parried upwards by the creature with its own right dagger and the left one of it was swiftly moving towards Kallian's left hip. With a quick turn with her right, Kallian barely dodged the cruel looking knife and she slashed her right dagger across the monster's thick neck.

Blood spurted out from the wound and she hissed in pain as it made contact with her bare fingers. Ignoring the pain, she then leapt forwards to put some distance between her and the other short monster. With a roll upon the meaty ground, she quickly got up and tried to ignore the deep disgust which welled up within her.

Focusing on the monster, she saw knock its head back and roar savagely before attacking her, and attacked. Running towards the creature, with her daggers now both held in a reverse grip, the monster thrust one of its daggers forward. Parrying the dagger with her own left dagger, Kallian swiftly swung her right foot into monster's face the monster's head jerked back from the impact. Quickly taking advantage of the monster's momentary daze, Kallian swiftly plunged her red steel dagger into its skull.

As the creature's eyes rolled up, she pulled her dagger out and she looked at the creatures with a growing sense of confidence. Just like killing a person she thought. Looking behind her, she could see that upon the ramparts, Khorieus and the _Asur_ woman were above the gate and surrounded, yet even from the ground; Kallian could see the many bodies of monsters around them.

She saw the _Asur_ woman holding up her spear in both hands and she kept spinning and turning both her weapon and her body in a very dance like fashion. She saw Khorieus continue to fight in his usual style, and yet Kallian could see the amazing degree of teamwork between them. She saw the _Asur_ woman swing her blazing spear one handed across the gut of one of the monsters, another one of its kin pressed the attack as the _Asur_ woman suddenly spun and turned her back upon the other monster, her spear quickly shot forwards and impaled a different one. The monster which had tried to attack the _Asur_ woman from behind was quickly beheaded with a swing of Khorieus axe.

The two _Asur_ continued to spin and switch places, each of them swinging their weapons in wide arcs or thrusting forwards in the _Asur_ woman's case or a chop from Khorieus own. It was like watching a well choreographed dance, their precision was just perfect, and they seemed to know exactly where the other one would be. They protected each other's flanks and continued to keep switching place, she even saw Khorieus spin and cut the legs off of one of the creatures, he then switched places again with Illenya and she plunged her spear into the downed monster before parrying which she quickly disengaged from and Khorieus proceeded to drive his axe into the side of Illenya's attacker.

As Kallian watched the mesmerizing dance, she heard a loud roar from behind she felt the very ground begin to tremble. Looking to the entrance of the keep, she saw a massive monstrosity with dark red and purplish skin, it had two arms and two legs, its body was heavily muscled, upon its head the beast had massive horns which swept back. The massive beast wore a semblance of armor, upon its right arm it wore a crude metal pauldron, and around its wrists it wore spiked plates of armor. At a closer look, Kallian could see that the red of its color was blood, its mouth, its teeth and much of its chest and hands were covered in fresh gore.

The massive beast pounded its chest and it roared in challenge at them, Kallian looked back to the two who were still fighting a small number of the remaining monsters. Quickly sprinting to her left, Kallian was moving towards a flight of stairs, he heard the loud crash as the massive thing shattered the fountain with a single back handed sweep. Stone and debris rained across the side of the courtyard as the monster drew closer.

* * *

Cutting down the last Darkspawn with his axe, Khorieus was a bit disappointed from the slaughter. The creatures had proven to be as pathetic as the common rabble of the Beastmen; the lead one with the horned helmet though had proven to be a better fighter. It had been able to block his axe, and parry a spear thrust from Illenya, but it was quickly cut down as Khorieus drove his axe upon it neck.

Already having heard and seen the great beast which had been coming towards them, Khorieus looked over his right shoulder to see Illenya was looking back at him. With a mutual nod, they quickly ran towards the opposite staircases by the ramparts. On Khorieus' way, he saw Kallian climb up, he gave her a brief glance before quickly going down the stair case, and he saw the massive Darkspawn stop to look at the two of them, a moment of indecision passed before it decided to go for Illenya.

Quickening his pace as he descended the stairs, his feet landed upon the ground which had yet to be covered in the fleshy mass. His gaze quickly fell upon the massive horned Darkspawn which thrust its right hand forwards to grab Illenya, the Ellyrian swiftly dodge the beast's hand and she drove her spear into monster's hip and a crossbow bolt from Kallian struck its waist and near where the heart should be. Running into a full sprint, Khorieus roared the name of the Bloody Handed God as the beast continued to attempt at catching Illenya.

As he drew closer, he saw another crossbow bolt fly towards its exposed left shoulder, Khorieus then leapt forwards with all of his might, he continued to roar as he soared through the air. With axe held over his head he buried the burning weapon into the beast's spine, the Darkspawn arched its back and raised its head up as it roared in agony, and leaving its entire front exposed. Illenya swiftly took advantage and thrust her spear into the beast's left breast and into its very heart, the blade burst out from the back of the beast, its point was rather close to Khorieus.

As the massive Darkspawn's roar turned into a whimper, it began to fall towards Illenya who swiftly pulled out her spear and disengaged from the monster's path. With Khorieus still on its back the creature crashed faced first into the ground with a tremor. Feeling rather good at the change of having slain a different foe over men, Khorieus looked to Illenya and smiled, the Ellyrian smiled to him as well. Indeed, the Chracian thought, it was just like old times.

'You have certainly improved _Fersai-Hinaan_' Illenya said in Eltharin while lightly panting as she smiled towards him 'let us find who we seek and be rid of this foul place'.

'We should cleanse this place with fire _Wylanh-Sayehk_' Khorieus said panting as well as he took a quick look around the ruined fortress. They they knew not what damage this corruption could cause, unchecked, often the best solution would come with fire.

'I know _Fersai-Hinaan_' Illenya softly replied 'but please, let us stick to our purpose of coming here first.'

Nodding towards the Ellyrian who then went off towards the keep, Khorieus looked to Kallian and he called for her to come over. He watched Kallian descend from the ramparts; he could see from the distance that she was carrying her crossbow. As Kallian came close he was relieved that she seemed unharmed

'Are you all right _mornah_?' Khorieus asked

'What in the Maker's name were those things?' Kallian asked with a quiet mixture of disbelief and horror as she looked upon the massive dead beast

'According to Lady Illenya, they are called Darkspawn' he said 'Do you know anything about them?'

'Darkspawn!?' Kallian replied with surprise 'but they were defeated centuries ago! How could they be here?'

'I know not mornah' Khorieus said 'for this is the first time I have even heard of or encountered such things.'

The Chracian then turned towards the entrance of the keep; gesturing for Kallian to follow him, the two cautiously advanced as they followed Illenya. As they drew closer, Khorieus could smell a charnel stench from inside, covering his nose with his cloak, he looked back to see Kallian picking up the hem of his cloak and she did the same.

At the entrance, they saw Illenya standing still she looked back to Khorieus with a hard look upon her face. Knowing what that meant, he steeled himself for what was to come, when they stopped at the entrance, Khorieus could not help but feel a deep level of disgust and loathing at what lay within. He heard Kallian gasp in horror, for what lay before them was an abbatoir. The headless bodies of many of the fort's original occupants were crucified and nailed to crude wooden totems, at the center was defiled statue of a woman, the statue was covered with mutilated organs and blood and around its feet it was surrounded by the piled heads of humans and the elves of this world.

While Khorieus and Illenya were unfazed by this, the Chracian looked to Kallian who gazed with wide eyed horror upon the bloody spectacle. 'Kallian' Khorieus said a bit loudly and trying to catch her attention, she broke her gaze and looked towards him with eyes that will never forget such a sight.

'You should go outside and keep watch for us _mornah_' Khorieus said with more than a hint of concern.

'I… I will be fine' Kallian said.

The three of them moved further into the fortress to search for this hunter. Khorieus and Kallian had split off into one group while Illenya searched on her own, the Chracian was confident that the Ellyrian would be fine. Searching within the keep, Khorieus and Kallian found no more of the Darkspawn or any survivors from the original occupants. They had found a few locked doors which Kallian had opened by picking the locks; one room they found had a man who looked to have been dead for a week, it seemed that the dead man had slit his own throat.

Another room they checked, seemed to be an armory of sorts, while most of it was ransacked, Khorieus did find a few extra quivers of arrows and crossbow bolts for Kallian and he. As they continued to search while constantly keeping their guard up in case there were more Darkspawn, they eventually ran into Illenya who was trying to open a heavy door of iron which was dented and scratched and clearly locked. Already the Ellyrian Lady had raised her burning spear up to strike the barrier.

Khorieus then called to Illenya and asked for her to cease, she looked towards Khorieus and lowered her weapon. Taking a step back, Illenya allowed Kallian to pick the lock, soon hearing a click; Kallian pushed the door open. As the heavy iron door slowly screeched open, ahead of them was a dark and musty hall. Khorieus could see that upon the sides of the hall, there were several empty square shaped spaces with iron bars which formed a barrier.

The smell was of and odious mélange of sweat, excrement and other bodily wastes hung in the air. Cautiously moving into the prison and they searched the cells and found nothing but rotted hay mattresses and rats. Despite the dark, each of them were able to search the cells quite easily for it seemed that both the _Asur_ and Kallian's people were gifted with a natural form of night vision. As they searched, Khorieus heard the faint sound of someone groaning, Illenya quickly ran off and both he and Kallian followed.

They soon stopped at a cell where Khorieus grunted in disgust as he picked up the fetid smell of an infected wound. Illenya quickly reached for the handle of cell's door of iron bars, it was unlocked as the Ellyrian pulled it open and she quickly went inside. There they found the hunter of whom Illenya had been seeking; he lay upon the filthy stone floor in a fetal position.

The hunter was a tattooed male elf who was blonde of hair and with skin of an unhealthily pale pallor. The hunter was wearing a set of leather armor which looked to be made from deerskin and embossed with images of hunting hawks and serpents. The hunter groaned once more and Khorieus tightened his grip upon his axe, he remembered from Illenya that the corruption spread by these Darkspawn caused agony, madness and mutation. Illenya called to the hunter as she said _Da'len_.

The hunter stirred as he heard her voice, he weakly looked up to them, Khorieus could see the blood which pooled around the hunter's left thigh. The Chracian could see the now blood-soaked bandage which covered the festering wound, and yet Khorieus could feel the corruption within the hunter's veins. In the hunter's eyes, he could see the pain and agony caused by the corruption from the Darkspawn as well as the fever from the infection.

'Maker's Breath' muttered Kallian as she looked towards the injured hunter. Her eyes lingered upon the hunter and she finally spoke 'I think he is one of the Dalish' she said with a bit of awe in her voice.

Khorieus remembered hearing a little about these wandering elves during his time in the Alienage. From what he had heard, they were either wandering noble folk who lived close to nature or predatory bandits who preyed upon the weak. The idea of them reminded him too much of those shortsighted, backwards, wood elf bumpkins back in the Old World, Khorieus was soon forced to remind himself that these were a different people and not the irresponsible deserters and secessionists he disdained.

Illenya knelt over the hunter and cradled his head over her lap, the Ellyrian felt his forehead and she looked to Khorieus. 'He is burning up' Illenya said in Eltharin, Khorieus nodded and set down his axe, he then removed the amulet of Isha around his neck and handed it to Illenya. The Ellyrian lady thanked him and placed it around the hunter's neck, she began whispering a desperate prayer to the Mother Goddess and the amulet began to glow brightly.

Khorieus then set his pack down as well and he began searching for his case of elixirs. Among them were some rather potent alchemical formulas he kept in the event that he may have been seriously injured or possibly infected with something during his travels. He had purchased the elixirs in Lothern before leaving Ulthuan, each were supposedly brewed by master alchemists from the White Tower of Hoeth. In the past, Khorieus had seen their effectiveness in battling the plagues and corruption of Nurgle.

Finding the leather case, he gently removed one of the few remaining elixirs, he then handed it to Illenya who studied the label and was surprised. The elixirs, as well as the rest of his gear honestly could have been enough to pay for the training, equipment and wages of an army. Illenya gave Khorieus a thankful look and she began trying to coax the hunter to consume it, soon enough she managed to pour the elixir over the hunter's lips as she positioned his head properly to help it go down.

After a few moments of waiting for the elixir to take its affect, along with healing magic of Khorieus amulet, the hunter suddenly began to spasm and convulse. He began to make gasping sounds as his eyes opened rolled up and bloody foam began to appear upon his mouth. Illenya called the hunter's name with alarm, Khorieus could hear the dread in her voice as she begged in Eltharin for the hunter not to die.

Khorieus looked to see the stunned horror in Kallian's face as the hunter continued to convulse as Illenya tried to hold him down. Illenya then quickly rolled the hunter off of her lap and positioned him to face down towards the stone floor. Illenya quickly asked Khorieus to help the hunter to his knees and the Chracian obeyed.

Kneeling beside the hunter and holding him up by the stomach, Illenya grabbed a handful of the back of the hunter's hair and she began rubbing him on the back. The hunter then began to vomit a disgusting mixture of bile, blood, and to Khorieus' surprise, the corruption that lay within. As soon as the hunter stopped vomiting, Khorieus could not help feel the disgust over the fetid smell within the cell as even Kallian herself went to the side and lost it as well.

When it was all over the hunter became still, his breathing quickly became stable as the amulet still worked its healing magic over him.

'Is he okay?' Kallian said as she breathed heavily and wiped her mouth with the back of her wrist

'I think so _mornah_' Khorieus replied as he looked to her. Or at least he hoped so.

* * *

After the episode at the cell, Khorieus and Kallian left the cell with Illenya carrying the hunter. They made it back to the courtyard of the fortress without incident. The late afternoon sun was comforting for the three as they emerged from the darkness, while Khorieus still thought that they should burn the place, they could not find anything they could use to set the entire fortress ablaze. During their search earlier, they had found a tunnel under a cellar which led underground, both Khorieus and Illenya concluded that these Darkspawn creatures must have used it to enter the fortress.

Illenya had called her horse and she set the unconscious hunter upon Asfalrhan's back. The party then made it back to the original campsite of Khorieus and Kallian by the river. Their travel occurred without incident, when they arrived back at their camp, they proceeded to wash out the foul burning blood which stained their garments. They each changed into new sets of garments with Khorieus putting on his simple white and red silk archer's uniform, Illenya changed into a set of soft leather garments commonly used by hunters in Ulthuan, and finally there was Kallian who changed into the garments she had acquire in Denerim.

They had also removed the filthy armor off of the hunter, of which had also become odorous. It was fortunate that during their search, Kallian had taken a number of spare sets of clothes, one of which had been used to cloth the hunter. When they had finished changing, Khorieus asked Kallian if she could watch the hunter. She agreed a bit hesitantly and then both Illenya and the Chracian went off in search of wood to burn and food for the coming night.

* * *

Looking up to a lone elm tree, Khorieus quietly began to pray to Isha and Kurnous. When he had finished, he climbed up the tree with his axe upon his back and settled upon a low hanging branch. Pulling out his axe, he began chopping the branch until the section ahead of him fell with a snap and a crash of leaves. He then descended from the branch and quietly began to chop the now fallen branch into logs which they would use for a fire.

As he quietly worked, he heard from behind the hoof steps of Asfalrhan upon the earth. Looking back, he saw Illenya carrying her bow with her right which now had a bowstring of catgut attached to it. He could also see that she carried four dead hares tied to a stick which rested upon her left shoulder; the Ellyrian gave him a warm smile and spoke.

'You have my gratitude once more _Fersai-Hinaan_' Illenya said warmly, Khorieus stopped his work and he smiled back to her

'You can always count upon my aid _Wylanh-Sayehk_' Khorieus said before going back to cutting the wood.

'I… I wanted to apologize' Illenya said a bit awkwardly 'For what I said to you all those years ago at Naggaroth'

'You were within your right' Khorieus said as he knelt down to pick up several chopped pieces of wood. 'What I had done was something I would have once been disgusted to see. But it was what the _Druchii_ deserved, what they had brought upon themselves with their depravity'

'I realized that later' Illenya said a bit hesitantly 'it was justice… but it was a hard one to see. At the time, I had thought that you were becoming something terrible, like the _Druchii_'

'Many things have changed for me over the centuries' Khorieus said as he stowed his axe and hefted the chopped wood. He then began to walk towards the camp with Illenya following him upon horseback.

'And what of us?' Illenya asked.

Khorieus simply looked up and continued to smile back at her 'I understood your anger and your words _Wylanh-Sayehk_, I think that had I not heard it from you, I would have taken a much darker path. My feelings for you, will always be as it has, Illenya'.

Silenced then passed as the two of them quietly walked back, he heard a soft sigh of relief and the Ellyrian smiled to him once more for no words were needed to be said amongst the _Senthanos_.

* * *

Staring into the fire as the sun began to set; Kallian's mind was full questions about today's events. She was very curious and at the same time horrified at the idea of there being a large force of Darkspawn around. Hopefully, they had just encountered a raiding party and nothing more for she had heard the stories of how horrible the Blights were. If there was a Blight coming though, then Maker help them all.

She was also curious about the relationship between Khorieus and Illenya, they seemed to be very close. Were they somehow romantically involved? They mostly spoke to each other in their own language so she had no idea what they were often talking about. The idea of it made Kallian more than a bit jealous to her own surprise.

Then what about this Dalish fellow they had just rescued? What was his relationship between he and the _Asur_ woman? The _Asur_ woman seemed very close to the Dalish hunter, when Kallian looked at him, she had to admit that the hunter was rather handsome, especially with his intricate tattoos. With a shake of her head, Kallian quietly scolded herself.

What was she thinking!? She thought, she was supposed to be married now and with a husband waiting for her back in the Alienage. While she had only known Nelaros for a short time, she was highly impressed that he had gone out to rescue her as well as the other women. While Kallian did not like the idea of being a damsel in distress, it was touching that he would risk his life for someone he had just met. And yet the ceremony was ruined and so technically they are not really married yet, thus technically Kallian was still single.

As these thoughts coursed through her mind, she heard a series of coughs coming from the hunter. With eyes widening, she went towards the Dalish hunter and she knelt over him, she could her him whispering softly and she was forced to put her ear next to his lips.

'w-water…' he said with a hoarse voice

Quickly going for a waterskin left beside her pack, Kallian removed the stopper and went towards the Dalish hunter. Carefully lifting the Dalish hunter's head, she placed the drinking end to his lips and he began to eagerly drink. The Dalish hunter quickly drank the entire skin, his eyes slowly opened to reveal a pair of brown eyes which looked about as if he were in a daze.

'Are you all right?' Kallian asked with genuine concern towards the Dalish hunter. The hunter groaned and murmured something unintelligible; he then groaned and remained silent before speaking up.

'Where...' he asked before groaning 'Where am I… Who are you?' he said weakly as he barely remained conscious. With the Dalish hunter's head resting on her lap, Kallian hoped that he wasn't going to vomit again for he still looked pale.

'Kallian Tabris, of the Denerim Alienage' she said as she introduced herself 'don't worry your safe now'

'Th-Theron' he said as he struggled to speak 'Theron... Mahariel'

'Well nice to meet you then Theron Mahariel' Kallian said warmly as she could not help but smile a little at this meeting.

She had always wanted to see if the Dalish were real and like many Alienage dwellers, had heard many stories about them. Considering all the strange surprises which had been happening lately, at least this she thought may be one of the few pleasant ones.

* * *

Returning to the gates of Denerim with frustration eating at him, Jacob Darius looked back to his Templar and they too were sharing his feelings. For six days now the fugitive and his accomplice have disappeared into the forest, the trackers and hunters they hired proved to be ineffective in their hunt. One hunter claimed that they found only one set of tracks and not two, and it according to the hunter, it was as if the trail kept disappearing and reappearing while moving in random directions.

Darius could hardly believe that they found only one set of tracks when they were clearly searching for two people, one especially of whom was clad in plate armor. After terminating the hunter's employment for such an unsatisfactory performance, the Templar and his comrades had searched the forest for nearly a week. Angry at the idea that the tracks may have gone cold and the fugitive had escaped justice, he returned to the chapterhouse in shame.

Later when he and his comrades made it back to the chapterhouse, one of the servants called to the Templar and informed him of a letter which had just arrived. One which was specifically for him and bearing the official seal of the Templar Order, his heart sank for there was a good chance that it was either a letter informing him of the dissatisfaction of his performance. Who wouldn't be? He had lost fifteen Templars and a Mage of the Circle in less than two weeks.

With a heavy sigh, he decided to get this out of the way first. He went towards his office where he found the letter upon his desk. Cutting the wax seal with a letter opener and unfolding the letter, it said:

_To Captain Darius of the Denerim Chapter_

_I have received word of your letter about the fugitive of whom was responsible for the deaths of several members of your Chapter and the son of the Arl Kendells. I would like to inform you that we have been having similar trouble with a fugitive with a rather similar description in the Bannorn. This individual has been responsible for the deaths of eight members of my Chapter as well as the aiding in the escape of a rogue mage en route to Aeonar. Said mage is a known associate to a Blood Mage and is considered extremely dangerous._

_I request for your presence as soon as possible for there may be a connection between the one you are seeking as well as the one we seek. Please reply as soon as possible. May the Maker watch over you._

_From Templar Captain Raonull_

_Acting commander of the Iron Keep_

Darius's eyes widened with disbelief. Could it be that the fugitive he was chasing had some other accomplice? Was he part of some group at large? Whatever was the case he needed to get to the bottom of this. Even if this other individual was not connected, it was his duty as a Templar to make sure this rogue mage is brought to justice. Maker's Breath he thought, he had a feeling, a strong instinctive feeling that this may be the lead he needed to end this case.


	7. PREVIEW: Wanderers among the Stars I

**Author's Note:**

**Hello, this is not a real update for Blood of the Phoenix. This is just a preview for a Warhammer 40k/ Mass Effect Crossover I will be doing in the future called "Wanderers among the Stars" (title may change).**

**Exactly when I will get started, I do not know because I am currently focusing on Blood of the Phoenix and its later sequels. I promise though that I will have this focus on adventure and the interactions between beings of two very different galaxies rather than war and just showing off about 40k being more powerful. Also, I may change some of the character names but, I am still thinking about it.**

* * *

Crouching down and keeping her head down as bullets struck the heavy metal crate behind her, Sarakshi'Karai nar Rayya waited for her kinetic barrier to regenerate as her Stiletto V Pistol cooled down. Taking a glance from the side, she saw as the four Batarian pirates across the black stone tunnel continue to pour fire upon her position. Emerging from their position came two shotgun wielders advancing towards her.

Muttering a profanity, Sarakshi activated her Savant VII Omni-tools and began hacking into the systems of her opponent's weapons. She heard the shouts of pain as the guns of the Batarians suddenly overheated, and causing great pain to their wielders. Quickly standing up from her position, the Quarian quickly looked down the improved sighting on her pistol and unleashed a burst of four cryo rounds at the shotgun wielders.

One of the shotgun wielders fell from her volley as the other one began to sprint faster towards her with a bayonet attached to his shotgun. The Batarian pirate which attempted to close in on Sarakshi was suddenly engulfed in an explosion of fire, smoke and shrapnel as he stepped to close to her proximity mine. The two remaining Batarians suddenly began to fall back, Sarakshi took the opportunity open fire and she managed to wound one of the pirates.

'Sarakshi, are you all alright?' came the sudden voice of Eryinia over her communicator which was full of static, Sarakshi could hear the sounds of gunfire in the distance.

'Alive and well' Sarakshi responded, she imagined her employer was a much larger threat to the pirates with her biotics. Considering what the Quarian had seen earlier, if someone had told Sarakshi before she left for her Pilgrimage that she would end up in a firefight against a small army of pirates led by a crazed Batarian in some ancient alien ruin and fighting alongside an Asari Matriarch, she would have been skeptical.

'Good, carry on to the main chamber as I deal with the main force' Eryinia commanded.

'Got it, on my way' Sarakshi responded. The Migrant Marine carefully advanced onwards with her pistol at the ready, she breathed heavily as her eyes darted around for any traps. She passed by more of the excavated tunnels of black stone with strange golden sigils upon the walls. She had seen Prothean relics and artifacts on extranet sites but these were of a different and more alien design, there was something about it which made the Quarian feel uneasy.

As Sarakshi carefully continued down the stone corridor, she eventually found an exit which emanated with a bright green light. Looking about and worried that there was not much room for cover, she prayed to the ancestors that there was no ambush waiting for her.

* * *

Norak watched in glorious triumph as the alien machines around him began to thrum with life. Green sigils began to light up as the three arches around him began to generate sparks of light at their center. This is it thought Norak as he smiled, power unimagined would be his, and he would bring about a new glorious age for The Hegemony. They would crush their enemies and remake the galaxy as they saw fit, just as he had seen in his vision.

Standing in a massive circular chamber, Norak stood upon the top of a dais which required one to climb to the top passed several flights of stairs. All around him, he could see the black stones which made up the ruin and the golden script which passed for writing from whichever species had once built this place.

Right in front of Norak was a short cylindrical pillar; at the top of it was a round depression he knew should be the resting place of the sphere. Reaching for the satchel beside him, he removed a sphere of crystalline emerald which was embedded with strange symbols. Reverently placing the sphere upon the pillar, it quickly thrummed with life, the black stones around he and his flock began to brighten up with emerald sigils.

Hearing the sudden staccato of gunfire from behind, he turned around angrily to see several of the mercenaries, pirates, and his faithful were suddenly caught in a Biotic Singularity. From across the open chamber, he saw the Asari matriarch who sought to steal what was rightfully his, lifting up his pistol, the batarian leader opened fire. He would not allow this interloper to stop him, not when he was the close, for the Ascendant One was their only salvation from the coming darkness.

* * *

As bullets struck against the Barrier of Eryinia, the Asari Matriarch unleashed a wave of biotic energy which hurled several of her Singularity victims high into air. She was certain that with this world's gravity, their fall would prove to be a lethal one. Quickly heading for cover behind a pillar, she was glad to have worn her Predator X Light Armor which not only offered good protection, but excellent shielding and defense against Tech and Biotic attacks.

Pulling out her Brawler X, Eryinia fired from cover with the practiced skill of a marksman. She felled one of her attackers who quickly began scrambling for cover behind several of the other pillars around the massive chamber. She still needed to climb the steps and would have to whether a hail of fire from her opponents.

Looking up to the top of the temple-like structure, Eryinia could not help but look up in horror. She was too late; one of the three arches began to create a shimmering disc of emerald green light which began to expand and fill the space between one of the arches. With a whispered prayer to the goddess, Eryinia hoped that her carelessness had not damned the galaxy.

* * *

Finding no enemies ahead of her, Sarakshi soon found herself upon the top of a flight of stairs. To her right and going down, she saw the two batarians which had escaped her and were now regrouping with her comrades. The Quarian's eyes widened under her helmet as she took in the sheer scale of the chamber around her, it was massive, as if it's very sized could contain a whole city.

Ahead of her, she saw a tall structure of the same black stone as she had seen across the ruins. Upon it was their target, the Batarian leader named Norak of whom her employer, Eryinia sought. Sarakshi could see that the Batarian leader was standing upon a dais of black stone, he pointed a pistol at something down the stairs and continued fire. At a closer look, she saw that it was Eryinia, who was now pinned down by batarian gunfire.

Quickly grabbing for her Equalizer IV Sniper Rifle, she crouched down and began taking aim at the batarians below. With a deep inhale, she squeezed the trigger and blew the brains out of one batarian which was firing at Eryinia. The Kinetic Stabilizers she had put on her rifle allowed the Quarian to quickly recover and she sighted down upon another batarian, with another squeeze of her trigger, she reduced another batarian's head to a bloody ruin.

* * *

As Norak continued to open fire and vent his anger against the interlopers, he saw a sudden field of green energy begin to fill the top area of the temple where he was standing. His bullets crashed harmlessly against the energy field, one of his mercenaries of whom was running up the stairs, had suddenly stopped but his momentum caused him to trip and fall upon the energy field.

When the mercenary fell through and got up unscathed, Norak realized that the field was some sort of Kinetic Barrier. The mercenary quickly called to the Batarian leader, he informed Norak of an enemy sniper in the area and the Batarian leader ordered for the mercenary to gather up his men and take the sniper out.

Briefly looking back to the three arches, he saw a dark spot begin to appear within the disc of light. Swiftly turning back, he knew his moment of triumph was here! Either it would be the Ascendant One or one of its immortal servants which would emerge. The dark spot soon began to grow bigger, as his excitement built up, he saw a massive black armored creature appear.

Norak was quickly confused, the Ascendant One's servants were supposed to be grey metal skeletal things with eyes of bright green and wielding weapons of green lightning. Standing ahead of him was large and bulky creature like a krogan, its eyes were two fierce red lights. It wore a golden symbol upon its chest which resembled a human skull with wings around and it had a massive silvery shoulder pad on its left and a blue one on its right. In its left hand it carried a massive blocky pistol like weapon and it right, it carried an equally massive block-like weapon which had many spikes on one side.

Soon there emerged three more of the massive black creature, each one carried a massive weapon which Norak highly doubted that even he could not carry. The black creatures gazed about for a moment before their eyes fell upon him, he could not help but feel a deep sense of terror as he looked upon these unknown creatures. They could not possibly be the servants of the Ascendant One…

Before Norak could react, he saw first of the black creatures point its gun at him, it then roared in a language the batarian quickly recognized, It was a human language. The creature roared 'PURGE THE XENOS!'

The black creature then pulled the trigger of its gun, and Norak's head exploded in a shower of blood.

* * *

**Preview Ends**

**The next preview will shed a bit of light on how the 40k characters somehow are on the other side of the portal... and its not because Araghast is ordering Eliphas to do so**


	8. Lathain

The crone watched with amusement as the raven moved one of its pieces across the board. The raven which now wore the form of a man clad in robes of feathers grinned towards her, challenging the crone to make her move. Moving another piece, the crone was able to remove one of the raven's pieces but in doing so she had lost the one she had moved. The raven's mood remained unchanged as its hand which was now a talon moved another piece.

The crone grinned for it was a smart move, no surprise for both were masters of the game. As the raven carefully looked amongst its pieces, its feathered hand gently hovered over another piece before switching to the one next to it. Picking up the piece and gently moving it forward, the crone knew with amusement that the game would carry on.

* * *

**ACT III: TANZ DER SCHWERTER**

* * *

Looking up to the cloudy grey sky, Solona Amell knew that it was going to rain, she could smell it upon the wind. Holding on to the basket of fresh goods she had purchased from the market, she wore a simple dress with a cream shirt and a brown skirt, it greatly helped her avoiding suspicion from the locals. Making her way back to her camp, her shoes pattered upon the dusty dirt path which led away from the village, lightly panting as she moved, Solona was hardly used to all this jogging. Spending one's own life cooped up in a tower sort of did that.

She eventually took a left and went off the road upon the grassy hills. As she continued to jog, Solona saw her campsite in the distance. Rising from the ground was a lone tower of dark grey stone with vines growing upon the walls. According to the local villagers, it had once been an Orlesian sentry outpost. During King Maric's rebellion, the tower's Orlesian occupants were brutally butchered and hanged in retribution for years of oppression and misery they had inflicted upon the people of the nearby villages.

According to the local villagers, the tower was also haunted… which actually turned out to be true. Fortunately though, the magic of both she and her companion had proven efficient in banishing the spirits of the Orlesians. Entering the tower from the main doorway which was covered with a cloth canvas, she went inside and found everything to be undisturbed.

The musty smell of dust and wood rot was still there but it had become fainter since they had moved in three days ago. Moving towards the spiraling flight of stair on the side, Solona ascended the tower with moss-covered stone masonry around her. Upon the second story, she found the sturdy wooden door which had surprisingly held up over the years of disuse. Releasing her left hand from the handle of the basket, Solona gently knocked upon the door three times with two soft ones and one hard one.

Feeling that strange current of energy pass, she heard the lock click open. Using her left hand to open the door, Solona gently pushed the door open and she entered the second floor. With her bed roll still laid out beside the hearth at the centre of the room, she could tell that when this place was still occupied, it had once served as a living quarters for the Orlesian soldiers.

Setting the basket of goods down by the hearth, she went back to the door and locked it. Looking about, she guessed her companion would be upstairs. With a sigh, Solona was really getting tired of being inside a tower with all those damnable steps. Ascending up to the third floor which must have been a mess hall but was now abandoned and ransacked, she went up to the fourth floor which must have been an armory.

When she arrived at the top of the tower which was a round flat platform with a ring of stone battlements, she was greeted by the winds and dark clouds above. Hearing the swift swishes of air, Solona saw her companion performing his intricate dance again. Clad in an elegantly designed armor of silver and gold which depicted several eagles in flight, his armor had the trims of deep blue and was studded with sapphires and white glowing stones. She heard the jingling of the gold and silver scale links from the sleeves and skirt of his armor as his feet lightly stepped upon the stone floor.

Armed with a rather beautiful great sword, her companion thrust his sword forwards before swinging it backhandedly with one arm to his right. Watching the graceful dance in silence, she could feel the unfamiliar power radiating from the great sword which crackled with electricity. Her companion wore a pointy helmet of the same silvery and gold design and plume of blue threads upon the top, the face of the helmet was shaped like the head of an eagle with its wings spread out from behind. Even his pauldrons were designed to resemble the wings of an eagle.

The section of the helmet where a person's nose should be was covered by a veil of scale mail which covered the rest of his face until his neck. The only exposed part of her companion's features was his eyes which were the color of the purest silver and the flesh around the eyes were were pale. She could see that under the helmet, strands of snow-white hair which moved along with her companion's motion.

Around his waist, he wore a belt with a sheathed long sword upon the left side. The long sword was of a similar design as the larger one but with a single golden crescent guard above the grip and another crescent at the bottom of the hilt. Each side of the crescents was embedded with a white luminescent stone which she had seen would cause the elegant script upon the blade to glow with a shining white light.

Her companion then stopped his dance with graceful fluidity. With a gentle but loud step, his great sword was held in front of his face with the twin crescent guards of gold which were inlaid with glowing sapphire gem in the centre of each crescent upon both side. The blade had an elegant flowing script as well which glowed as he practiced but now dimmed along with the sparks of electricity disappeared. A moment of silence passed and Solona could have sworn that as she had heard him whisper a mantra in his song-like tongue, the gale calmed in response.

Her companion then turned his eyes to her and he regarded her warmly, he then spoke in a tone which mirrored his expression 'I trust your sojourn has been fruitful, Solona?'

'Indeed it has' replied Solona 'I have encountered no trouble during my visit into the village as well as none in my return'.

With a gentle nod of his head, Yransair Stormwing sheathed his great sword upon his back. He then placed his hands upon the side of his helmet and he gently lifted it. For a moment, Solona could not help but stare at the handsome creature which stood in front of her; he was so very different from the elves she was used to seeing with his snow-white hair and pale skin, there was something both haunting and beautiful about him. He claimed to belong to the _Asur_, a race of elves from some other world.

Of course, Solona had been skeptical at first but after seeing his strange magic which did not even stem from the Fade, she was quick to revise her opinion. Physically, he was much taller than her, perhaps he was even the tallest person she had ever met, he also had a thick but short snow-white beard growing upon his chin which gave him a rugged sort of charm some older men would have. His demeanor was one which spoke of great wisdom, intellect and grace. He also radiated with power of which Solona could not tell had either stemmed from himself, his equipment or perhaps a mix of both.

'That is good to hear child, I shall go and prepare dinner then' he said with a slight bow.

Stepping aside and allowing Yransair to pass, she looked up as she heard the distant sound of thunder from above and the gale continued. Feeling a sudden prick of coldness as a droplet of water hit her cheek; Solona quickly went down the stairs and shut the wooden door to prevent the rain and cold from coming in.

* * *

'You sure you're okay?' Kallian asked again as she looked up to the Dalish hunter, Theron who rode upon the horse called Asfalrhan

'I'm… *groan* fine…' Theron said as he heavily breathed and clearly looking like he was ready for another bout of nausea.

For two days since they had found him, the Dalish fellow had been very sickly. The amulet of Khorieus glowed weakly as it lay around his neck. Just three hours earlier, he had been vomiting his guts out upon the grass. She hoped that whatever it was the _Asur_ had cured him of, it would already be out of him.

Looking to her other two companions, Kallian saw Khorieus walking ahead with bow at the ready behind the other Asur woman, Illenya. The two of them spent a lot of time talking to each other in their lilting tongue; they often laughed or smiled as they spoke to one another. Feeling a bit jealous at their closeness, Kallian could not help but wonder what the nature of their relationship was.

They had now been travelling southeast, according to Khorieus, to a place called the Brecillian Forest. According to Khorieus who translated for Illenya, there was another Dalish hunter who had whatever it was that Theron had. While she hoped that they would get there in time for she vividly remembered the deathly condition they had found Theron in. Kallian had to admit that she was a little excited at the idea of meeting the Dalish for Theron had not been one to really talk about them, considering his condition of course.

As the party continued to travel, Kallian heard the distant thunder in the north. Already, Kallian could see the trees of the Brecillian Forest in the distance and she hoped that they could find cover under the trees before the rain came.

* * *

Ser Wallace looked upon the phylactery he carried in his hands as the rain poured from the sky above. It glow was bright and he knew that his quarry was close, looking back to his brothers, they nodded in unison for they were ready. Ahead of the party of Templars, there was a stone tower which was overgrown with vines. A fitting place for a mage to hide, the Templar thought.

Raising his right hand and creating several hand gestures, he ordered his brothers to move out, he then handed the phylactery to a squire who rode upon the back of a horse, in the event that somehow, the mage escaped the squire would ride back to the Iron Keep with the phylactery safe in his hands. They would bring this consorter of Maleficars to justice and the fugitive who had been responsible for the death not only his brother Templars, but also his own blood-brother. They will be avenged, this, he swore to the Maker.

* * *

Inhaling the lovely aroma of the vegetable stew which bubbled and boiled within the iron cauldron upon the hearth, Solona knew that it must have been ready. Using the wooden ladle to gather a generous dollop of stew, she could smell the wild herbs, vegetables and grain her companion had used. She had honestly been surprised to find out that aside from chopping people into small pieces, he was also good at chopping vegetables and cooking.

Placing a spoon into her bowl, she scooped up a bit of steaming broth and vegetables. Blowing onto the spoon, she placed the round edge of the utensil in her mouth and she moaned in enjoyment of its taste. Going around the hearth, she took a seat beside her companion who sat cross-legged upon his bedroll.

With a smile, the mage had never imagined that being on the run as an Apostate would be like this; she honestly imagined that it would be much more miserable. Her companion who still wore his armor of silver and gold, looked to the mage with a warm smile, his great sword gently rested within its sheath upon his lap while his long sword was behind him in its own sheath. Solona could not help but blush a bit and she suddenly began to feel a bit hot as she gazed upon his countenance.

'So where do we go now?' Solona asked a bit bashfully as she looked upon Yransair while wondering what they should be doing next.

'To the southeast child, I believe that what which we seek will be found there' he calmly said.

'And how do you know that?' Solona asked while raising an eyebrow

'A raven told me' he said with a smile

'A raven?' Solona said skeptically. While the mage had come to enjoy his company, there were times when she found his tendency for being rather cryptic was annoying at best.

'Indeed child, for the ravens are wise creatures and... Oh…' Yransair looked to the wooden door and then back to Solona.

'What? What is it?' Solona asked a bit worriedly

'Get my other sword and stay behind me child!' he suddenly said with authority as his right hand reached for the hilt of his great sword.

Nodding, Solona watched as he swiftly stood up and began whispering words of power. The sapphires and white luminescent stones upon his armor began to glow brightly and the mage could faintly feel their strange power from them. The Winds of Magic, as Yransair had called it was nothing like she had ever felt, it was so different from the Fade.

Her companion began to literally shine with a bright, blinding light and she could feel a windy breeze emanating from him. Solona herself began to whisper words of power as she focused her will upon the Fade. Her flesh solidified as she finished casting the Rock Armor spell, she then quickly went for his long sword which rested in its sheath. Removing the surprisingly light blade, she saw as the white stone upon the single crescent guard began to glow and she felt surprisingly comforted by the pleasantly warm light. The mage dearly wished she still had her staff but had been forced to give it up when she had been cast out of Kinloch Hold.

From below, she could hear the heavy steps and clatter of metal plates, Templars! She realized. It really would have just been a matter of time until they sent another group for they still had her phylactery. She heard a heavy pounding upon the door and a man's voice shouted

'In the name of Andraste!' the muffled voice said 'Surrender and submit to the Maker's Justice, Apostate!'

'I was set up!' Shouted Solona in response for she had been duped by a friend of hers named Jowan into destroying his phylactery. To the surprise of both Solona and a priestess named Lily who desired to elope with Jowan, it turned out that he really was a Blood Mage, a practitioner in the forbidden college. 'I didn't know he was a Blood Mage!' Solona added, she doubted though that the Templars would believe her

'A likely story, witch! But that changes nothing! You were responsible for the escape of a Maleficar!' the man shouted and she heard the _thok-thok_ of axes cutting down the door. After three chops, Solona heard a cry of pain from Templars at the door and the sound of metal clattering upon the stones.

'There is a reason why I taught you that particular knock Solona' Yransair said. He then made a sort of pulling motion with his gauntleted left hand and the wooden door opened.

Three Templars armed with swords and shields were quick to charge in and the _Asur_ launched his own assault. Yransair's sword crackled with lightning and he moved with great alacrity and in a blink of an eye, one Templar fell with his helmeted head severed from the neck, another had the tip of the great sword slip through his visors and the point burst out from the back of his head. Yransair had outstretched his left gauntleted hand and a bolt of lightning burst forth and struck the Templar in the chest and was knocked off of his feet towards the stone wall.

As the Templar struck the wall with bone shattering force as electricity danced across his armor and the smell of roasting flesh began to fill the room, Yransair quickly ordered her to head up the stairs. Solona obeyed for her magic would be of little use against even a single full-fledged warrior of the Templar Order. When she had been cast out of the Circle, Solona had only just finished her Harrowing; she honestly was probably just as powerful or perhaps a little more than when compared to the average apprentice.

Glancing down as Yransair covered her escape; she saw that more Templars were ascending the tower with weapons drawn.

* * *

Sitting down with a groan as she rested her back upon the bark of a tree and her haunches between its roots, Kallian felt relieved to put the pressure off of her feet for she was just absolutely exhausted. They had been walking quite swiftly almost non-stop since they had found Theron and was glad at the least that they had found cover under the trees as the rain began to pour. She realized that for her _Asur _companions, it seemed like they were barely tired at all, as if they could just keep on moving without complaint.

The _Asur_ woman, Illenya looked about impatiently she spoke to Khorieus in their language, he spoke back and then nodded towards her. A grateful look came upon the _Asur_ woman's face and she gently raised herself upon her tip toes, she then planted a kiss upon Khorieus cheek, the warrior kissed her as well upon the other cheek and she smiled to him. It seemed like a friendly kiss and not a romantic one… or at least Kallian hoped so she thought.

The _Asur_ woman then called to her horse in Eltharin and with a neigh the horse came towards her and Illenya mounted its saddle with Theron in front of her. She looked to Khorieus who handed her his case of elixirs; Illenya gently took the case and nodded to him, she carefully held Theron as she rode off into the forest. As the two of them disappeared under the shadowed eaves, she saw that Khorieus was already busy getting started with a fire.

'Are they off to the Dalish camp?' Kallian asked as Khorieus went about his work.

'Indeed, _mornah_, we will follow them come the morrow' he replied as the warrior piled several stick of wood together with stones around it. When he had finished setting the stones around the fire, he used the fire of his axe to ignite the pile of sticks. He quietly sat down beside her and said 'is something wrong _mornah_? You seem disquieted'

A little bit, she thought. 'So what's your relationship with Illenya' Kallian asked with a mix of curiosity and perhaps a bit of envy. She saw Khorieus grin, oh Maker's Breath he caught that envious bit.

'We are not lovers if that is what you are asking' he said with amusement, as if she had just told him something personal and embarrassing.

'Th-that's not what I meant!' she said hotly as she looked away with a blush on her face.

Hearing a soft chuckle from Khorieus he continued 'As you wish _mornah_' he said with a sardonic smile. 'As I have mentioned previously, Lady Naharynath and I are very close'

'You said something before, a _senthanos_ you called it. Right?' Kallian said as she remembered their conversation a few days earlier.

She had tried to speak to him about it in the previous days, but he just did not seem very sure on how to word it. Khorieus nodded to her, he removed his helmet and placed it beside him and then he removed his pack and placed it along with the helmet. Opening the pack, he reached in and produced one of the roasted tubers he and Illenya had cooked earlier that morning. Handing her one, Kallian thanked him as she felt her stomach growl a little.

'Indeed _mornah_' he finally said. 'A _senthanos_ is… a group' he said, his tone was clear that he was still bit unsure of his words as he held one of the roasted tubers 'a group… tied together by very strong bonds of loyalty and fellowship'

'You mean you were just close friends?' Kallian asked, for that did not seem so hard to explain

'It is much more than that _mornah_' he added. 'Each member of the _Senthanos_ shares a close bond, one which could only be forged by decades… if not centuries of shared experiences and hardships. To be a part of a _senthanos_ is to open your true self to others and for them to do the same.'

Remaining silent and curious, Kallian allowed him to continue 'To be a part of a _senthanos _is to know one another's greatest fears and deepest desires. To be a part of a _senthanos_ is to know one another as well as you would know yourself, to be able to lay down your own life in defense of that person as if you were defending your own life.'

Still, Khorieus remained unsure of his words as he was clearly doing his best to explain 'To be part of a _senthanos_ is to face your foes as if you were all of one mind, one body, one purpose.'

Kallian could not imagine what that would be like, to know someone on such a deep and intimate level. She reflected on her own relationships with friends and relatives back in the Alienage. With her cousins, it seemed possible considering they were family, but what about the others though? She knew of some people in the Alienage who would be the type to rat her out for a reward if she were involved with something serious. Some she knew she could trust to have her back in a fight, others not so.

'Was it just you and Illenya?' Kallian asked

'There are more of us within our _senthanos_' he replied 'Each an _Asur_ I have proudly stood beside against countless foes. Each an _Asur_ I would proudly stand beside until the end of time'.

'And me?' Kallian asked as she looked into his eyes 'Would you do the same?'

'I think you know the answer, Kallian' Khorieus said with a warm, fatherly smile.

With a smile of her own, Kallian indeed already knew.

* * *

By the Maker, this was just impossible thought Ser Wallace as he climbed up the steps of the sentry tower. The fugitive who was protecting the Apostate was using some sort of unknown magic they could not disrupt nor deny. The only consolation was that with their training and equipment, they could still resist some of the magical assaults of the fugitive.

Already, his party of over twenty men had been reduced to eight. Two who were supposed to chop down the door were electrocuted to death. Five more men met their deaths upon the second floor, three more on the third, and two upon the fourth.

They were now upon the top of the tower with the fugitive and the apostate cornered upon the flat platform of the roof with stone battlements around them. And yet, Ser Wallace felt uneasy as the rain poured hard and lightning cracked across the sky. It had been too easy to drive them up, as if the fugitive had purposefully been giving the Templars ground.

Now looking at the fugitive, Ser Wallace had never seen such a design of armor. Decorated with glowing gems which must be magical like those colored crystals some merchants sold. The fugitive was unusually tall and slender with a conical helmet with a plume of blue at top, the helmet was designed at the front to resemble the face of an eagle. He could also see the gilded wings upon the side of the helmet and the fugitive's pauldrons which were also shaped like wings. The fugitive's face was covered by a veil of shining metal scales and he could see the pair of silver eyes which seemed to pierce his very soul.

Most dreadfully, was the fugitive's beautiful silverite great sword which bore two golden crescent moons and was embedded with glowing sapphires. The sword was etched with runes which glowed a bright blue and electricity sparked from the blade. The sword dripped with the blood of his fellow Templars as the rain genlty washed it way and fugitive carried it in a seemingly aggressive stance.

The apostate woman was a rather attractive, fair-skinned, rose blonde haired human woman with eyes which seemed to be a similar color. The rain soaked her cream-colored dress and in her hands, she carried a long sword similar to that of the fugitive's which glowed with a white light, her stance made it clear that she had some training in its use. With the time for mercy having long passed, Ser Wallace ordered his men to take no prisoners.

* * *

Feeling a surge of energy as one of the Templars purged the rooftop of magic, Solona felt the effects of her Rock Armor disappear along with the Heroic Offense spell she had cast. One of the Templars then raised his hands and magic fire burst out from him in a wave. Solona was knocked off her feet and she landed upon her back, she began to feel disoriented as an intense burning pain began to flare through her body and she began to feel her reserves of mana begin to drain away.

As she fought to stay conscious, her companion had weathered the magic flame more easily. He quickly moved into a defensive stance, and began whispering words of power.

* * *

With a whispered prayer to Khaine as the defender, Yransair charged ahead with his great sword pointing forward and its twin guards were raised horizontally at eye level. The Templars reacted by attacking him all at once, each one carrying a weapon and shield. The Saphery-born Loremaster of Hoeth began to shine with the light of Pha's Protection, his already considerable speed was imbued with the trapped Winds of _Hysh_ within the Lumen Stones socketed to his armor.

Sweeping Tempestfang low with his right hand, he severed the legs to two Templars and his left hand shot out a bolt of chain lightning which struck another Templar and it swiftly jumped towards his comrades. Another Templar fell as the rest managed to resist or maintain their balance; they were quickly on the move to strike against the Loremaster once more. Yransair swiftly parried their steel weapons of the Templars which were poorly aimed as they were blinded by the light of _Hysh_.

Twisting to his left and dodging a thrust from one of the Templars, he beheaded another foe with a sweep of his great sword as the blade followed his movement and it struck the human in the back of neck, blood sprayed like a geyser as it mixed with the falling rain. Another Templar swung a sword in a downwards chop, the blade nearly grazed the right winged _ithilmar_ pauldron by an inch before the Loremaster weaved away and thrust his hand forwards and unleashed a ball of white light. The ball of light struck the Templar who remained standing as he resisted the spell.

Another Templar swung his shield forwards to bash the _Asur_. The Loremaster leapt aside and rolled across the wet mossy stones, he then quickly recovered and went towards his foes, his dance hardly interrupted. Yransair thrust his sword forwards with such speed that he impaled a Templar in the chest and Tempestfang began electrocuting the human's body from inside his armor.

With a swiftly whispered spell, he fired another bolt of lightning towards a Templar beside him and the human fell dead. With three Templars now remaining, Yransair retracted his great sword in time to parry a sweep from a sword, he then took a step back and ducked under a sideways slash and brought his sword up to cleave a Templar from groin to belly. Now with two Templars remaining, the Loremaster swiftly pulled out his sword from the Templar's belly along with his entrails.

The last two Templars were now on the defensive with shields raised. Whispering words of power, he thrust his left hand forwards and a strong Wind Gust blew against the Templars. Such was the strength of the Wind that both men were swept off of their feet and they were knocked off of the tower where they descended from the five-story drop.

Hearing the sounds of anguish from the two remaining Templars whose legs he had severed, the Loremaster thrust his Great Sword into the visor of one and left the last man alone. Looking to Solona who still seemed a bit dazed, he began to draw upon the Lumen Stones and he began casting a spell of healing upon the girl. Slowly rising with a groan, Solona looked to him first and then to the dead Templars with more than a bit of surprise.

She was about to say something but she sneezed and groaned again. The child might be coming down with something from the rain he thought. Looking to the last remaining Templar who tried to crawl to the nearest sword as blood poured from the bottom of his legs. Driving Tempestfang towards the Templar's right hand as his gauntleted fingers tried reaching for the hilt of a long sword, Yransair severed it with a shout of pain from the Templar. The Loremaster had decided to question this one first before deciding upon the Templar's fate.

* * *

Lifting the side of his white fur cloak, Khorieus placed it over Kallian's shoulders. Feeling warm from the fire in front of them and the cloak which kept the away the cold air and the few droplets of rain which passed the canopy, they had already finished their meals were ready to rest for the night with the Chracian taking watch again. Kallian rested her head upon the right side of the _Asur_'s chest as his right arm was draped over her shoulders as well.

Her body which was much smaller than his was now completely covered by his fur cloak. Khorieus armored arm gently held Kallian protectively towards him as she gently breathed. The Chracian began to sing an old lullaby the _Asur_ from across Ulthuan would sing for their children.

_Haain Mornah_

_Yile Haain Mornah_

_Muir fala muir nisa Lileath_

_Dren Mornah_

_Lecai dren Mornah_

_Fahn orre linei Minaith_

_Lah na athan fera_

_Sein eila han Menlui_

_Sethai eila Annuli_

_Yein enna meso dren_

_illa haain _

_Haain Mornah_

_Yile Haain Mornah_

_Muir fala muir nisa Lileath…_

It was a lullaby he had not sung in centuries. He remembered his own mother singing it to him when Khorieus himself was a child. He and his wife would also sing the same song for their son when Aranith was still little. Lost in the song as the _Asur_ revisited old memories, he remembered days when his wife and son were still alive, he remembered the faces, names and memories of friends and comrades lost in the centuries of war.

He also visited the memories of the more recent adventures he had in the Old World. Of the friends he had made and lost, the battles he had fought against so many foes and the sights both terrible and wondrous he had seen over the course of his travels across _Elthin Arvan_. He hoped that he would be able to return, to see those sights again as well as the faces of those he had befriended. To clash blades with the enemies he had come to loathe and hate, to spill their blood as he had for centuries.

As he finished his song, he gently lifted the side of his cloak and looked down to see Kallian's eyes were closed as she deeply slept. With a warm smile, he covered Kallian again as his eyes settled upon the fire. He would maintain his silent vigil till the coming of dawn.

* * *

Riding fast and hard under the eaves of the Brecillian, Illenya and Theron rode upon the back of Asfalrhan. The Ellyrian steed was just as home running across the forests and brush as easily as if it were upon the open plains. The horse moved with an almost tireless pace for the weight of the two elves were nothing compared to the weight of the full sets of armor both the Ellyrian Lady and the steed would wear when riding amongst the Silver Helm Knights.

Leaping over a log and descending a hill, the Lady of the House of Naharynath knew the limits of her beloved steed were hardly within reach. Holding on to Asfalrhan's reins, Illenya carefully held Theron between her arms as his head bobbed about as the horse ran. While she was glad that he seemed to have been healed from the corruption brought by the Darkspawn, she had no idea if there were any lasting effects.

For several hours, the Lady would ride with the young hunter in her arms. It was until the shafts of dawn's light began to pierce through the canopy of leaves that the Harbinger would find the hunter's kin. She had come upon the camp of the Dalish where a pair of sentries pointed their bows in surprise at Illenya, when they had realized who she was and to see Theron with her, they were quick to lower their weapons and call to their elder, the one called Marethari.

Dismounting Asfalrhan, Illenya helped Theron down as well as his kin attended to him. The Ellyrian lady removed his amulet and prayed to Isha that the amulet would still have enough power. The elder of whom looked exhausted and haggard eventually came to Illenya and spoke in their language; it was a mix of crude human speech and the more elegant sounding tongue of their own native speech. Illenya understood the elder's intent for her to follow and she did as she carefully held the case of Sapherian elixirs.

Illenya was soon brought to the elder's _aravel_ where she saw the apprentice of the elder, the one named Merril tending to the other hunter who lay upon a sweat stained mat. To Illenya's horror, the other hunter of whose name was Tamlen had developed several dark blotches upon his skin and he looked worse than even Theron had. His hair was falling leaving several bald spats like a mange ridden beast, at the least he was quite and the lady could see the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Isha's tears thought the Illenya, it was like seeing one of those afflicted by the Plague God's more insidious and slow acting maladies. The kind of unnatural sicknesses which slowly eroded not only the physical body, but also the sanity and spirit of the afflicted as well. She remembered rather vividly what devastation she had seen in _Elthin Arvan_ when the Plague God's diseases ran rampant amongst the humans and even the wood elf communities in the Empire and Kislev.

Kneeling down by the hunter, Illenya set the case next to herself; she placed the amulet around Tamlen's neck and began whispering a prayer to Isha again. The amulet glowed weakly for most of its power was spent in Theron's healing; the elder began whispering words of power as well as she began to add her magic as well. As Illenya prayed to Isha, she removed one of the bottles from the case and she pulled out the stopper.

Merril said something to the hunter and he slowly opened his mouth. Illenya began pouring the contents of the elixir into his mouth and she saw the movement upon his throat as he swallowed it. A tense moment of silence passed and he began to spasm violently. Just as what had happened to Theron, Tamlen soon began to vomit a vile mix of blood, bile and the corruption of the darkspawn.

Illenya wondered why that happened though for she had fought the followers of the Plague God in the past and had been cured of many sicknesses thanks to the magic and alchemy of the _Asur_. Never had she seen anyone begin to vomit and spasm as violently so during the healing process. Neither an alchemist nor a practitioner of the arcane, her only skill in healing was the mixing and application of herbs into non-magical salves and poultices. As such she was really no expert in the way diseases worked and reacted.

As soon as Tamlen began to with his spasms, Illenya saw the elder and her apprentice check for his pulse. There was a relieved sigh from both and they both looked to the Ellyrian with gratitude upon their expressions. Whispering a relieved prayer of thanks to the Mother Goddess, Illenya called to Asfalrhan. As her steed gently cantered towards her, the _Asur_ mounted the horse and rode back into the forest with the intent of bringing both Khorieus and the Kallian to the camp.

* * *

Glaring hatefully at his captors, Ser Wallace's arms were bound behind his back with rusty iron chains as he sat upon the fourth floor of the tower. He had been stripped of his weapons and armor and was now wearing a wet undershirt and trousers. Both of his legs were severed from below the knee and his right hand had been cut off as well, he should have died but the witch's guardian had healed him.

Likely, the Apostates were planning to interrogate or keep the Templar as a hostage. Death would be preferable now for he had been robbed of his ability to properly fight and walk, if they had let him lived, he would become a useless cripple for the rest of his life. His sense of loss was overpowered by the rage and hate he felt towards the apostates and yet he was also curious about the great sword-wielding stranger.

Just what in the Maker's name was he dealing with? All of his attempts as well as those of his comrades in dispelling the stranger's magic had ended in failure. Their powers also did not seem to affect the stranger, despite the clear use of magical abilities and yet they could still resist some of his spells. The stranger's magic was unlike anything he had seen in over a decade of being a Templar.

The apostate woman though seemed comfortable in the stranger's presence. Was he some sort of demonic familiar or a bound abomination? The Templar couldn't be sure, but he knew that he needed to escape and warn the rest of his brethren. All he had known before the mission was that the escaped mage was being guarded by a warrior in silverite armor; they had known nothing of his strange magic.

With the stranger now busy going up and down the tower while dragging the bodies of his comrades to the ground floor, apostate woman, one Solona Amell was now watching over him. The mage, of whom according to the report he had been given was a recently harrowed mage of The Circle who had also been responsible for the escape of a Blood Mage. The woman continued to look at him uncomfortably; she clearly did not seem sure what to do with him.

* * *

Looking to the crippled Templar who quietly glared at her, Solona was quite not sure on what to do with him. While she was not fond of the Templars considering their purpose as jailers and executioners for mages like her, Solona was also not the violent type and to simply kill the man did not sit well with her.

While she knew a few spells which would normally be used in burning, shock or generally cause bodily harm towards living things such as those spiders and sentinels a few weeks back, setting overgrown arachnids or magical constructs on fire or freezing or shocking them was completely different from harming an actual living person.

And yet, she knew well enough by now that had Yransair not been there to protect her, Solona would now either be dead or on the way back to Aeonar. Which honestly would not exactly be a pleasant thing considering some of the stories she had heard about what happens to mages there. She knew it would be no use trying to talk to the man for his conviction and faith would not change his view on Solona for being an apostate.

As she thought about the man, Solona already knew with a heavy heart on what must be done. With a sigh she looked to the Templar and she did her best to steel her heart for she already knew that the Templar had to die. Standing guard and watching the man in an uncomfortable silence, she soon finally heard her companion's footsteps.

Yransair arrived with his head exposed as his helmet was hooked to the side of his belt opposite of his long sword. Looking away a bit embarrassed, Solona was ashamed that she had dropped his sword and nearly lost consciousness during the fight. Her companion gave her nod before turning his gaze towards the crippled Templar with an aloof and distant look, the Templar in turn kept his glare upon Yransair.

'I would like to ask you a few a things, human' Yransair asked in a surprisingly polite and formal tone 'and if you answer them to my satisfaction then you may live or be given a swift end as you wish'

'And if I refuse?' asked the Templar with hostility

'Then I shall be forced to tear out your very soul and ask you again while I torment you at my leisure' replied Yransair said quite casually

'I am a devout follower of the Chant of Light!' the Templar proudly announced in defiance 'the Maker will guard my soul and bring me to his side as he does with all of the faithful'

'Your god can take your soul or cast it aside for all I care, human.' Yransair said 'all I ask are three things'

'And what is it do you wish to ask? Apostate' the Templar said

'The first would be for the location of my companion's phylactery' Yransair replied 'the second would be if your Order would be so kind as to destroy said phylactery'

'And the last?' the Templar asked coldly

'For your fellows to stop hunting my companion' finished Yransair.

The Templar looked at Yransair with an incredulous look, as if he asked for the Templar to renounce his faith to the Maker. Solona herself was surprised because getting rid of her phylactery would mean that she could just run off somewhere far away and not have to worry about the Templars coming after her unless she makes a highly overt display of magic.

'I will have to disappoint you then' the Templar said with an amused looked 'but my Order would deny each of those for we are sworn to hunt down renegade mages for the dangers they pose to the world.'

'A shame then' Yransair said as he reached for a small pouch on the front of his belt.

He then removed a trio of purple stones which were attached by a delicate silver wire. The elf softly began whispering words of power and a dark purple aura of energy began to appear around him, the aura grew stronger and Solona could feel the air around them becoming unnaturally cold. It felt a little similar to magic from the college of Entropy, only a little though.

'What is this Apostate!?' shouted the Templar 'I answered all of your damn questions!'

Yransair continued his spell and he slowly walked towards the Templar who began to struggle with his bindings, Solona could feel the anti-magical powers of the Templar battering uselessly against the elf. Yransair then placed the stones upon the Templar's forehead and the man began to scream in a bone chilling horror as he began to spasm, after a few moments he suddenly then became limp like a ragdoll. Yransair then gently removed the stones; a cold look of satisfaction was etched upon his face.

The elf then looked to one of the stones and coldly said 'Your answer was not to my satisfaction in regards to the first'

Looking in quiet horror at her companion, did he really just tear that Templar's very soul out? Yransair then looked to Solona and gave her a warm smile which now seemed more than a bit unnerving.

'We should rest for the night and then leave this tower come the morrow child' he said in a friendly tone 'I believe we still have some stew left'

* * *

As dawn's light shone over the canopy of the forest, Khorieus silently rested with the fires in front of him already having guttered out. In the distance, he heard the galloping hooves of a horse coming from the forest and knew that it would be Illenya. The steps of the horse gently slowed into a canter and soon enough he saw the Ellyrian lady and her mount arrive in camp.

He noticed that the hunter, Theron was no longer with the Harbinger and guessed that she may have found the hunter's kin. Looking to Illenya who gave a simple nod towards Khorieus, it was all he needed to see for the expression on her face told of success. Hearing the gentle stirring as Kallian awakened, the Chracian lifted his cloak and he heard Kallian groan. '

Time to awaken _mornah' _Khorieusgently said.

'Ugh… just a few more minutes' rasped Kallian in response as she nuzzled the side of his cuirass and pulled his cloak over her.

With a slight grin, Khorieus removed his cloak and wrapped Kallian in it before rising up to greet Illenya. The Ellyrian lady gave him an amused look as she glanced towards Kallian, she then dismounted her steed and softly landed upon the forest floor. Holding each other again as they brushed the back of one hand against the other's cheek, it was a common form of greeting among _Asur_ who greeted close friends of opposite genders.

'I trust that your business with the hunter's kin is done?' Khorieus spoke in Eltharin

'Indeed it has _Fersai-Hinaan_' Illenya said as she looked to him 'we should make our way to their camp, we can recuperate and gather supplies for the journey to the Tower'

'I suppose we can also gather information from the hunter's kin, I am eager to meet this mage of theirs which you have mentioned' added the Chracian. 'You should rest first before we leave _Wylanh-Sayehk'_.

With a nod, Illenya went about removing the saddle, harnesses and armor from Asfalrahn while Khorieus gathered more wood. By the time the Ellyrian Lady had finished removing her horse's gear and setting them in a neat pile, she set herself down by the fire pit. Khorieus soon returned with a clutch of several twigs and sticks, he placed them upon the fire pit and started a new fire by rubbing the sticks together.

With a new fire set, the two of them quietly drank water from leather skins and ate some of the dried foods Khorieus had purchased in Denerim. They talked and spoke of the many previous battles they had fought in and adventures they had been through together. Illenya had been especially intrigued by the Chracian's more recent adventures across _Elthin Arvan_; it lifted the heart of Khorieus to be with the Ellyrian Lady once more.

As they quietly talked, laughed and reminisced, they also shared moments of silent remembrance for those they had lost over the centuries. While they did speak to one another in the days after they had found the hunter, Illenya's thoughts had been more occupied about returning the hunter to his kin as well as healing the other hunter who had been afflicted as well according to the Harbinger. Now free to just be themselves, it was good to simply talk and catch up on nearly a century's worth of events.

After allowing Illenya and Asfalrhan to rest for a few hours, the three elves were soon ready to depart and meet the hunter's kin. They had put out the fire and re-equipped Asfalrhan for the journey ahead. Kallian herself seemed a bit excited and in high spirit as well, she had previously told Khorieus along the way that in the Alienage, they had heard many tales regarding the hunter's kin which both Kallian and Illenya referred to as the Dalish.

They would travel across the forest seeing only simple wildlife here and there. For many hours they travelled on foot until after the following nightfall. They were met by a group of armed elves who were rather short compared to the two _Asur_ but compared to Kallian they were similar in height to her as well.

Each of them wore a set of deerskin leather armor which was embossed with the same images of hawks and serpents, just like that of Theron's. Curiously though, the Chracian noted was that females of these so-called Dalish wore leather armor which completely left their midriffs exposed. One of them, a male stepped forward; Khorieus noted how each of them bore intricate tattoos upon their faces, a number of which were quite pleasing to the _Asur_'s eyes.

'_Andaran atish'an'_ the leader of the Dalish party said as he bowed with arms crossed in an x shape, he then spoke in the common language 'I am Fenarel of the Sabrae Clan and you must be the companions of Illenya.'

Illenya replied with formal greeting in Eltharin as she gave a courtly bow to them. The Dalish bowed in unison to her and it was clear that the Ellyrian had gained a good measure of respect from these other elves.

'We are, yes' the Chracian said 'I am Khorieus Alatanrieth of the Asur of Ulthuan and of Chrace.' Gesturing his hand towards Kallian he then introduced her to the Dalish 'This is Kallian Tabris of Denerim'

'We welcome you as well sister of Alienage' Fenarel said with politeness

* * *

'Nice to meet you too then' Kallian replied with a polite smile

'We have recently taken in another dweller from the Alienage of Denerim, Pol. Perhaps you know him?' said Fenarel which surprised Kallian for she did know who Pol was.

She remembered hearing about him running away and she never heard of what happened to him. Not that they were close or anything but he was a regular acquaintance back in the Alienage.

'Yes I do know him' replied Kallian

'That is good then, for we have been teaching Pol what it means to be a true elf' Fenarel said politely. Kallian of course was not amused by the bit about "being a true elf" part but decided to let it slide. 'We welcome each of you as friends for saving the lives of two of our kin and we would be proud to offer you a place within our clan' added the Dalish leader.

'I wish to speak to your clan's mage' Khorieus said 'I have a number of questions I would like to ask'

'Of course, our Keeper is eager to meet you all' Fenarel replied 'The three of you have proven yourselves friends of our clan and we extend our hospitality towards you'

'By your lead then' Khorieus said and the party departed towards the camp of the Sabrae Clan.

* * *

_The morning of the same day…_

Testing one of the long swords taken from the Templars, Yransair felt that while the weapon was crude and cumbersome for him, he supposed it was serviceable enough. Placing the sword in its sheath, he handed the weapon to Solona who took it in both hands. She tested the weapon and she studied the rune stones which were embedded upon the base of the sword.

In Solona's pack, she carried some of the equipment they had taken from the Templars. Among them was a suit of armor the Loremaster had agreed with which he would teach her to be capable of properly using. With a nod, both the _Asur_ Loremaster and the Human Mage left the entrance of the tower.

The bodies of the Templars had simply been left near the entrance outside the tower with their equipment stripped off of their bodies. Already, several carrion ravens were eagerly feasting upon the remains of the dead humans. Some of the ravens regarded the two for a moment before going about their meals. It was the least Yransair could do in gratitude for their wisdom.

To the southeast was where he and Solona needed to go. There was power which he had sensed from there, one which he hoped would give him the means or at least bring him closer to going home. The only thing they had left was the body of the Templar he had allowed to let live, for while the human was technically still alive, his soul was now imprisoned within one of the three Endstones he kept. If any more of these Templars would come seeking to harm his companion, the Loremaster had already sworn that he would dedicate each of their souls to the Bloody Handed God.

Quietly walking across the field which was wet and muddy from the rain of the previous night, Yransair and Solona carried on with the wind at their back and the morning light of day shining upon them.

* * *

Author's Note: According to Sword of Caledor by William King and the Malus Darkblade series by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee, yes Warhammer Elves can grow beards.


End file.
